A year after 79-year-old woman fell to her death, another woman falls while crossing same bridge with bike

A little over a year after 79-year-old Carol Wright fell to her death from the Royal Park Bridge in West Palm Beach, a woman fell Sunday night when the bridge opened beneath her as she was crossing with her bike, just like Wright did.

The drawbridge that connects the island of Palm Beach to the mainland was raised from 8 to 8:05 p.m., Mike Jachles, a West Palm Beach Police Department spokesperson said in a news release Friday. The first 911 call came in about 23 minutes later.

The 57-year-old woman, whose name has not been released, said she was walking from west to east near the pedestrian path on the bridge’s north side with her bike when it started to lift, Jachles said.

She had crossed most of the bridge and was about three feet from reaching the fixed part of the bridge when it began to open, ultimately falling between six and 10 feet onto a landing below, Jachles said.

About 8:30 p.m., a fisherman from Alachua County who was boating in the area heard the woman calling for help, Jachles said, and took her to a marina where paramedics assessed her.

She was treated for minor injuries at St. Mary’s Medical Center.

[ RELATED: 79-year-old bicyclist often crossed drawbridge to Palm Beach. Last weekend, she fell to her death when it opened beneath her. ]

A photo of the area of the Royal Palm Bridge where Carol Wright perished was presented, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in West Palm Beach during a news conference. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Jachles said the fall is not being treated as a criminal investigation as of Friday afternoon. The 28-year-old bridge tender from Riviera Beach, her employer FDI Services, formerly known as Florida Drawbridges, and the Florida Department of Transportation are cooperating with the investigation, Jachles said.

“It appears, according to what we know at this point, that there were safeguards and procedures in place that were followed,” Jachles told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Detectives plan to interview the woman who fell again, he said.

FDI Services did not respond to a voicemail seeking comment before the end of business hours Friday.

[ RELATED: ‘I killed a lady on the bridge.’ New details emerge about bridge tender’s actions after 79-year-old woman plunged to her death ]

On Feb. 6, 2022, Wright fell about 60 feet after several people watched her grip on to the rising bridge for her life. One witness attempted to get bridge tender Artissua Paulk’s attention by honking his horn. Another who was skateboarding on the bridge’s sidewalk tried to grab Wright’s arm to save her, but he couldn’t, court records say.

Paulk, 44, of Greenacres, was arrested last March and pleaded guilty in January to manslaughter, receiving a sentence of eight years probation. Officers learned in their investigation that though Paulk initially said she followed the safety protocols necessary before lifting the bridge, video showed no one walked out of the bridge tender’s tower to check for pedestrians before Wright fell, court records say.