Freak Drawbridge Accident Leaves Cyclist Plunging 60 Feet To Her Death

Over the weekend, an elderly woman plummeted 60 feet to her death after the Royal Park Bridge in Florida opened while walking her bicycle from Palm Beach into downtown West Palm Beach, local police said on Sunday.

According to police spokesman Mike Jachles, the woman was within 10 feet of the drawbridge’s barrier arms when it started to rise, noting she tried to hang on for her life. A passerby on the other side of the span would quickly offer help, grabbing onto the woman’s arms but couldn’t keep his grip, the New York Post reported.

“He tried to help her but he wasn’t able to hold onto her and she fell about five to six stories below,” Jachles said. “At some point, it opened. The circumstances around that are under investigation by detectives.”

Unfortunately, the incident turned fatal and saw the woman land about 50 to 60 feet on the concrete below the bridge where the mechanical parts of the bridge are. She died on impact, the Daily Beast noted.

Authorities proceeded to shut down the span for hours for initial investigations and reopened the public infrastructure at about 7 p.m. on Sunday.

As of Monday afternoon, police are yet to identify the casualty as the woman was not bearing any ID with her at the time of her untimely death. Jachles is urging anyone who knows the person to contact the West Palm Beach Police Department to help with investigations.

Meanwhile, the operator of the drawbridge was reportedly “distraught” after witnessing the woman’s fatal fall, according to Jachles. The probe will now focus on the female bridge tender’s actions before the span opened.

Maintained by the Department of Transportation in Florida, Royal Park Bridge is being handled by a private state contractor that employs its bridge tenders.

Local safety advocates noted that the bridge is trafficked heavily by bicyclists, with clear visible barriers. It also uses bells to alert people when it’s about to open and is accessible only through three bridges.

“There are crossing arms,” advocate Juan Orellana explained per WPBF. “There are warning signs. There are safety procedures in place for the bridge tenders to follow, with multiple steps and multiple layers of checking to make sure that there are no cars or people on the bridge when it goes up.”

A review of surveillance video is expected as the probe also works to determine if the woman took standard safety precautions before crossing the drawbridge.