Woman was 18 feet from safety before drawbridge was opened

Carol Wright was just 18

feet

from

safety

tonight. New video of the Royal Park Bridge connecting West Palm Beach and Palm Beach shows just moments before his death a bridge tender accused of opening the span while the 79-year-old

woman

was riding her bicycle across it. 5 has been on the story from the beginning investigator michael butchner says our questions are prompting a lawmaker to pressure the state for a solution michael yes, shannon behind me is the surveillance video that contact five obtained shows Carol Wright walking across the royal palace Park Bridge that February afternoon Every day people do the same thing on all the bridges, assuming they are safe.

We wanted to know what the state is doing to avoid another tragedy like this. You can't even begin to imagine what's about to happen. she has no idea what is about to happen these are the last frames everyone's worst nightmare ever carol wright was 18

feet

away from being safe off the bridge and returning home that day the 79 year old man died minutes later there is a tragic irony here when bridge tender artisia polk now accused of manslaughter lifted royal park bridge police claim polk, who has pleaded not guilty, failed to visually check the bridge before opening it, yields to other pedestrians accustomed to riding her bike for a minimum of 10 seconds 10 seconds is more than enough time for her to get 18 feet off the bridge and ride her bike home.

Wright's niece spoke to Contact 5 in March. You don't want to think about the details because they are so scary, tragic, horrible and preventable. So preventable attorney Lance Ivey represents Wright's family and gave us the video she received from West Palm Beach police. She will be trapped on this catwalk for several minutes and will experience a painful physical and mental death after Wright's death in February. The contact traveled to the 5th 5th Street Bridge in Miami, which is where the Florida Department of Transportation and Florida Draw Bridges Inc., the same company that manages the Royal Park Bridge, are testing lasers and artificial intelligence.

The technology promises to prevent another tragedy and a bridge bid increase by one span if a person or moving object is detected on it, but nearly five months after Wright's death, f-dot cannot tell Contact 5 whether the technology save lives will be implemented on other state bridges, or when, in an email to contact 5, a spokesperson said. We continue to actively work on this pilot project and do not have an update or additional information to share at this time. I'm worried, I mean, I think this needs to be done quickly. We shared FDOT's response with State Senator Lori Berman, she serves on the Senate Transportation Committee.

We know people's lives are at stake, so the faster we act, the better it will be for the public. Senator Berman has voiced her opinion on bridge

safety

and the need for new technology after Contact 5 first exposed a series of troubling mishaps. on local bridges early this year i will also follow up with fdot and see if they have any additional information on a timeline this should never have happened this should never have happened this is an easy fix wright's family has filed a lawsuit against the bid of the bridge and Florida Draw Bridges Inc. Meanwhile, we have learned that Palm Beach County is also exploring new safety enhancement chambers and additional training for its bridge tenders and nine moving bridges.

For now, pedestrians and motorists will have to rely on these bridge tenders. I'm in touch. 5 investigator michael buchner wptv newschannel 5.