Pensioner Dies After Drawbridge Opens While He's Walking Across: Police

A 77-year-old man died in Wisconsin this week after a drawbridge he was walking across opened up, according to police.

Milwaukee Police said the man, whose name has not been released, was reportedly from Providence, Rhode Island, and he had been walking across the Kilbourne Avenue Bridge in downtown Milwaukee on Monday afternoon.

But as the man walked across the Milwaukee River, the bridge started to go up, which in turn caused the man to fall.

According to local ABC affiliate, WISN 12, police said the man died at the scene. He had been on the southwest corner of the bridge at the time of the incident.

In a statement sent to the outlet, the Milwaukee Department of Public Works (MDP) said the bridge is controlled by a remote operator.

According to the MDP, the operator works in a bridge house on Water Street and uses a video to monitor the remotely operated Kilbourne Avenue Bridge.

A police spokesperson told WISN 12: "The Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) sends our sincere condolences to the decedent's family and friends who lost their loved one during this tragic accident."

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office said an autopsy would be performed this week.

An MPD spokesperson said in a statement sent to Newsweek: "At this time, there is no suspicion of criminal act; however, the investigation is ongoing.

"The Milwaukee Police Department sends our sincere condolences to the decedent's family and friends who lost their loved one during this tragic incident."

According to information obtained by Statista, there were some 14,307 road bridges in Wisconsin in 2020. Texas led the way in terms of bridges with 55,175, more than double those in second-placed Ohio, which has 27,151 bridges.

This incident is the latest in a number of recent reports where a person was killed in an unusual accident.

Earlier this month, a man was crushed to death by a sand dune while he was filming the sunrise in Florida.

The Martin County Sheriff's Office said they found the body of the 35-year-old man inside a dune just south of the House of Refuge on Hutchinson Island.

They added the death was likely an accident.

Earlier this year, a 75-year-old man died after he fell into a volcano on Hawaii's Big Island in Volcanoes National Park.

The man's family reported him missing on January 3, one day after he fell, and rangers searched throughout the night to find him.

Rangers eventually found his body in the Kilauea volcano after they searched for some eight hours.

A statement from the National Park Service read: "After searching for the man in the darkness, National Park Service rangers and Hawaii County firefighters located the man's body about 100 feet below the crater rim, west of the Uēkahuna viewing area at the summit of Kīlauea volcano. Park rangers, assisted by helicopter, recovered the body around 8 a.m."