Teh One Who Knocks
02-07-2022, 01:05 PM
Andrew Marra - Palm Beach Post
https://i.imgur.com/xcTE8BV.jpg
A woman fell to her death Sunday afternoon from the Royal Park Bridge connecting Palm Beach to downtown West Palm Beach when the drawbridge began opening before she could move off its moveable span, police said.
West Palm Beach police say the woman was walking off the bridge with a bicycle and was within 10 feet of the barrier arms that halt traffic when the drawbridge started to rise, sending her careening into an open chasm.
A man standing on the other side of the barrier arms grabbed her as she fell but could not sustain her grip, police said. She plummeted more than 50 feet.
“She was walking her bike from east to west and had almost reached the furthest point of the moveable span when it went up,” police spokesman Mike Jachles said. “He tried to help her but he wasn’t able to hold onto her and she fell about five to six stories below.”
Detectives now are investigating why the drawbridge began to rise before all pedestrians had a chance to clear it.
“At some point it opened,” Jachles said. “The circumstances around that are under investigation by our detectives.”
The accident happened shortly after 1 p.m. The bridge was closed for nearly six hours as rescue workers recovered the woman’s body and detectives and crime-scene investigators inspected the accident scene.
Police declined to identify the woman Sunday.
https://i.imgur.com/xcTE8BV.jpg
A woman fell to her death Sunday afternoon from the Royal Park Bridge connecting Palm Beach to downtown West Palm Beach when the drawbridge began opening before she could move off its moveable span, police said.
West Palm Beach police say the woman was walking off the bridge with a bicycle and was within 10 feet of the barrier arms that halt traffic when the drawbridge started to rise, sending her careening into an open chasm.
A man standing on the other side of the barrier arms grabbed her as she fell but could not sustain her grip, police said. She plummeted more than 50 feet.
“She was walking her bike from east to west and had almost reached the furthest point of the moveable span when it went up,” police spokesman Mike Jachles said. “He tried to help her but he wasn’t able to hold onto her and she fell about five to six stories below.”
Detectives now are investigating why the drawbridge began to rise before all pedestrians had a chance to clear it.
“At some point it opened,” Jachles said. “The circumstances around that are under investigation by our detectives.”
The accident happened shortly after 1 p.m. The bridge was closed for nearly six hours as rescue workers recovered the woman’s body and detectives and crime-scene investigators inspected the accident scene.
Police declined to identify the woman Sunday.