WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) – A Florida woman is recovering after a fisherman rescued her after she fell from a drawbridge connecting Palm Beach to West Palm Beach last week.
According to NBC Affiliate WPTV, the fisherman was around the area on April 2 when he found the uninjured 57-year-old woman on a landing beneath the Royal Park Bridge.
“She fell through the bridge when it was open when the boat went through,” the fisherman told dispatchers in a 911 call released Monday. “Like, her bike is up there and everything.”
WPTV reported that the fisherman told officials he was able to rescue her on his 16-foot skiff. He then took her to a nearby marina on the Palm Beach side of the Intracoastal Waterway. She was later taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center for her injuries.
During the 14-minute 911 call, the fisherman can be reportedly heard saying that the woman was “cut and bleeding and everything.”
When asked how the woman fell from the bridge, the fisherman told authorities that she was crossing the bridge with her bike when it opened up for a big boat. Police said they believe the woman fell about 6 to 10 feet.
“When she was crossing the bridge, they opened the bridge up for a big boat to go through before she got all the way to the other side, so she fell in where the hinges are,” he said.
WPTV said the fisherman was worried the woman’s bike was going to damage the drawbridge’s gears and “cautioned against raising the bridge until the bike could be removed.”
According to the West Palm Beach Police Department, officers questioned both the woman and the 28-year-old bridge tender. WPTV stated that while the incident isn’t being “criminally investigated,” police would like to speak with the victim again.
“It’s a fact-finding mission right now to determine exactly what happened and to ensure those safeguards were followed and make sure that the woman who fell has an accurate recollection of the events that happened,” West Palm Beach police spokesman Mike Jachles said. “Certainly, it must have been traumatic for her.”
WPTV said this incident marks the second time a woman has fallen off the bridge in the last 14 months. Last year, on Feb. 6, 79-year-old Carol Wright was killed while walking her bike across the bridge when it suddenly began to rise.
The news outlet stated that an $8.2 million settlement was reached after Florida Drawbridges Inc. was sued for Wright’s death.
