Woman dies after falling from drawbridge that opened while attempting to cross in Palm Beach

A woman died Sunday afternoon while attempting to cross a drawbridge on her bicycle in West Palm Beach after the bridge began to rise before she could reach the other side.

The incident occurred shortly after 1:00 p.m. on the Royal Park Bridge, which connects Palm Beach to mainland Florida.

The woman was walking her bicycle across the bridge and was 10 feet away from the barrier obstructing traffic when the bridge began to rise, according to the Palm Beach Post.

"She was walking her bicycle from east to west and had almost reached the far point of the movable span when it went up," said Mike Jachles, West Palm Beach Police spokesman. "The woman tried to hang on. There was a bystander nearby who tried to help her, but tragically she fell from a height of five or six stories onto the pavement and died."

According to initial reports, the woman was 79 years old.

Jachles said an investigation will be opened to determine why the Royal Park began to rise before the caution barrier came down. The bridge operator was "shaken" by the incident, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Juan Orellana, a cycling safety activist, told WPTV that Palm Beach is only accessible by three bridges, and Royal Park is the main one, so it is often used by cyclists.

The bridge has an alarm system that warns drivers and pedestrians before it rises.

"First of all, you're going to hear the alarms before the barrier goes down, so if the alarms go off, you have to get out of there before the bridge goes up," Orellana explained.

The name of the victim has not been released. The bridge remained closed for six hours following the incident.