Bridgetender Was Texting When Woman Fell; Supervisor Urged Cover-up, Police Say

The bridgetender in charge of a South Florida drawbridge where a woman fell to her death last month did not follow safety procedures and appeared to be texting before the woman slipped from the structure, according to news reports.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Monday that a police report also indicated that the woman’s supervisor texted her to lie to authorities and say that she had checked three times for pedestrians on Feb. 6 before raising the bridge that connects Palm Beach to West Palm Beach. The supervisor also urged bridgetender Artissua Park to delete the text, authorities said.

The well-traveled bridge is operated under contract with the Florida Department of Transportation by Florida Drawbridges Inc., a large company that operates and maintains bridges up and down the Florida east coast.

“Since our inception in 1997, we have maintained the lowest incident rate in the industry,” the company’s website reads.

The company and FDOT declined to comment about the fate of the supervisor, the newspaper reported.

Park, 43, has been charged with manslaughter with culpable negligence. She was released Friday after posting $20,000 bail.

Procedures require bridgetenders to leave the bridge tower and walk around the balcony three times to visually inspect that the movable part of the bridge is clear of pedestrians before it is opened. Police said phone records, bridge records and video footage show that Paulk did not do that before 79-year-old Carol Wright fell.

Wright was walking her bicycle across the bridge, as she had many times, about 1 p.m. that day when the bridge began to rise to let a boat pass beneath. Witnesses said she shouted for help, but the bridge operator did not hear her. Another pedestrian tried to hold Wright but couldn’t maintain his grip and Wright fell about 60 feet to the base of bridge, reports indicated.

Topics Law Enforcement