Photo: CBS 12
An attorney hired by the family of an elderly woman who fell to her death from a West Palm Beach drawbridge wants answers.
Lance Ivey says Carol Wright was walking her bicycle over the Royal Park Bridge that links the City to the Town of Palm Beach "lawfully" earlier this month when the tragedy occurred.
"And at the time she walks up the bridge, there's no alarms, there's no whistles and the crossing guards are up in the up position."
He says the guards went down and trapped her on the bridge as it started to ascend. That's when the woman grabbed onto the guard rail.
"She maintained that position for several minutes. She gave it a valiant effort but unfortunately her 79-year old arms and hands gave way and she falls."
The lawyer says the bridge tender was "negligent" and must not have gone through the proper safety procedures, claiming they would have seen the woman if they had. Those include checking several cameras and mirrors, and walking out onto a balcony to see if anyone was on the bridge.
"The bridge tender pushes the button that would ultimately turn out to be a slow mental and physical death sentence for Carol."
Ivey stopped short of announcing a lawsuit on Monday, but said he's looking into it.
Police are still investigating and want to hear from more witnesses.