The Royal Park Bridge connects West Palm Beach to Palm Beach, Florida.
A bicyclist fell to her death when a drawbridge connecting Palm Beach to the Florida mainland began rising before she could reach the other side.
A bystander tried to pull her to safety but lost his grip, officials said.
The woman was walking her bicycle toward West Palm Beach on Sunday afternoon and was within 10 feet of the barrier arms that halt traffic when the drawbridge started to move, police said.
“The woman tried to hang on. There was a bystander nearby who tried to help her, but tragically she fell five or six stories below where she died landing on concrete,” West Palm Beach police spokesperson Mike Jachles said.
Why the bridge tender began raising the span before it was cleared of pedestrians will be a focus of the investigation, Jachles said. The bridge tender was described as “distraught," the Palm Beach Post reported.
The Florida Department of Transportation maintains the bridge, but the bridge tenders are staffed by a private state contractor.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
The bridge is equipped with bells and whistles to alert drivers and pedestrians that the drawbridge is going up.
U.S. & World
The woman’s name has not been released. The bridge was closed for more than six hours after the accident.
