Woman Plunges to Her Death After Drawbridge Rises Unexpectedly: Police

West Palm Beach Police are investigating how and why a woman fell many feet to her death while she reportedly attempted to cross a drawbridge as it was going up.

Mike Jachles, public information officer for the West Palm Beach Police Department, told Newsweek that the death of the unnamed victim occurred at about 1 p.m. Sunday. The woman was reportedly walking her bicycle in the pedestrian lane of the Royal Park Bridge, described as the central thoroughfare that connects Palm Beach to West Palm Beach.

"When we got there what we were able to determine was there was an older woman walking her bicycle across the bridge from east to west," Jachles told Newsweek.

He said the victim was approximately 10 feet away from the final span of the drawbridge to get to the other side. A man described as a skateboarder was on a fixed portion of the pedestrian bridge when the woman was stuck, attempting to grab onto her to save her.

"When the bridge went up, the woman grabbed the rail," Jachles said. "She tried to hold on."

The woman eventually fell "50 to 60 feet below" to her death, dying on impact on a concrete landing where all of the bridge components are found underneath.

Jachles said there were numerous witnesses and car traffic that observed the "horrific" scene.

He added that when the West Palm Beach Fire Rescue technical team arrived on the scene, crew members had to conduct a high-angled rescue because of where the victim was located and the elevation of the bridge deck.

Ropes and special equipment were utilized to recover the victim, whose name and age are being withheld pending identity confirmation. Police are currently describing the victim as an "older woman."

Jachles said there are "several layers of safety protocols that the bridge tender is supposed to practice," involving several visual confirmations at several different points before gates are lowered.

"The bridge tender was obviously distraught and it's an ongoing investigation to determine exactly what happened," he added. "We don't know if there was a lapse for a security measure; we don't know if the pedestrian went around a gate that was down, or if she was already at the bridge. That's all part of the investigation."

A review of any surveillance footage, along with witness statements, will accompany the investigation.

The Royal Park Bridge reopened to all traffic at about 7 p.m. Sunday.

Newsweek reached out to Florida Drawbridge Inc. for comment. It is contracted by the Florida Department of Transportation to operate the bridge tenders.

Drawbridge-related incidents tend to be rare but they do occur.

In March 2021 in Miami, a bicyclist named Fred Medina, 58, died during his morning bike ride when he attempted to ride past a drawbridge over the Miami River.

A family had a "what if" moment last August in New Jersey when a Jersey Shore drawbridge lifted underneath their vehicle, causing a panicked situation where the vehicle luckily made it to the other side—albeit with some incurred damage.

Last October in Belgium, a family's car was stuck on an ascending drawbridge and fell backward. The vehicle's occupants survived the fall.