Florida drawbridge death: Police identify victim who died from fall as 79-year-old woman

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Police in South Florida have identified the victim who fell to her death from a drawbridge that began rising while she was still on it.West Palm Beach police say the victim was identified as a 79-year-old woman from Palm Beach County, but would not release her name due to Marsy's Law, WPTV reports.The accident happened just after 1 p.m.

Sunday on the Royal Park Bridge, when the woman was walking her bicycle westbound from Palm Beach toward West Palm Beach.PREVIOUS: Woman falls to her death from rising Florida drawbridgePolice said she was within 10 feet of the barrier arms that halt traffic when the drawbridge began to open."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 spokesman Mike Jachles said.(Courtesy: WPTV) Police said a man on a skateboard desperately tried to rescue her and help her hang onto the bridge."Despite those efforts, the woman was not able to hold on and she fell to the concrete landing below to her death," Jachles said. "From where the victim was to where she landed was approximately five to six stories or 50 to 60 feet."According to WPTV, West Palm Beach Fire Rescue's Technical Rescue Team had to use ropes and harnesses to lower firefighters beneath the bridge's surface to reach the victim, who landed on a concrete surface where the mechanical components of the drawbridge are located.(Courtesy: WPTV) Police described the bridge tender as "distraught," the Palm Beach Post reported.