A woman fell to her death Sunday when a draw bridge in West Palm Beach, Florida, was raised as she was walking across with her bike, according to police.
The woman, who has not been identified, was walking across the Royal Park Bridge, which stretches from Lakeview Avenue in West Palm Beach and connects to the island of Palm Beach, at around 1 p.m., West Palm Beach police said.
She was about 10 feet away from the end of the bridge when it raised and she fell through a gap in the road, NBC affiliate WPTV in Palm Beach, Florida, reported.
The Royal Park Bridge was closed to all traffic as West Palm Beach police and fire rescue respond after cyclist fell and died, after striking a lower portion of the bridge structure ON Feb. 6, 2022. Meghan McCarthy / USA Today Network
West Palm Beach police spokesman Mike Jachles told the outlet, "The woman tried to hang on."
"There was a bystander nearby who tried to help her, but tragically she fell five or six stories below where she died landing on concrete,” Jachles said to WPTV.
He noted that there was a bridge tender who is responsible for following safety protocols in managing the bridge.
An investigation is now underway into the woman's death and why the bridge was raised with a pedestrian still on it.
As a result of the death, the bridge was shut down for nearly six hours, finally reopening around 7 p.m., police said.
LordUK on February 7th, 2022 at 20:06 UTC »
As a bridge operator myself, this is one of my greatest fears. I scan every nook and cranny of my bridge before I open it as a result, but there's always that fear in the back of my mind that I missed someone crossing. The pedestrians where I work are also fucking stupid and will start crossing after I've already put down the gates as if they don't exist. Very nerve-wracking.
TimeRemove on February 7th, 2022 at 15:35 UTC »
This picture better explains where she fell:
https://i.imgur.com/xchldnh.jpg
She was on the section that lifts, and was tipped towards a sheer opening with a concrete walkway below. People are imagining she was standing directly in the middle of the splitting bridge, but she wasn't, she was very near the barrier and the bridge "tipped" her into an opening created by the bridge pivoting upwards.
It remains to be seen if this was all human error or there were systemic elements (e.g. process failures, blind spots, under-staffing, broken safety systems, et al.).
frodosdream on February 7th, 2022 at 14:09 UTC »
A woman tragically fell to her death Sunday when a draw bridge in West Palm Beach, Florida, was raised as she was walking across with her bike, according to police.
She was about 10 feet away from the end of the bridge when it raised and she fell to her death through a gap in the road, NBC affiliate WPTV in Palm Beach, Florida, reported. West Palm Beach police spokesman Mike Jachles told the outlet, "The woman tried to hang on."
"There was a bystander nearby who tried to help her, but tragically she fell five or six stories below where she died landing on concrete,” Jachles said to WPTV. He noted that there was a bridge tender who is responsible for following safety protocols in managing the bridge.
Maybe too judgmental but assuming that human error was involved.