‘She tried to hang on.’ Bicyclist falls to her death from South Florida bridge, cops say
A Sunday bike ride ended in tragedy in West Palm Beach on Sunday afternoon.
According to a news release from the West Palm Beach Police Department, part of Royal Park Bridge downtown was shut down for about six hours after a bicyclist fell to her death.
The unidentified woman was reportedly walking her bike across the movable span around 1 p.m. Police say she was only about 10 feet away from the end of the bridge when the drawbridge went up and she plunged through the gap.
“The woman tried to hang on,” West Palm Beach police spokesman Mike Jachles told local station WPTV-Channel 5.
Jachles said that a bystander on the other side of the barrier arms tried to grab her, but she tumbled to the concrete, about five to six stories below.
An investigation has been launched to find out why the drawbridge was raised with a person on it as there are safety protocols to prevent against such an accident.
The “ bridge tender has certain safety protocols to follow, specific safety protocols,” Jachles added. “That includes lowering of the gates for the vehicles, lowering of the gates for the pedestrians, and making several visual confirmations that there is nobody at either of the spans or past those gates.”
Though the bridge is maintained by the state, the tenders are staffed privately.
The tender was said to be “distraught” over the incident.
