Ex-Bridge Tender Gets Probation After Elderly Woman’s Fatal Plunge from Drawbridge

An ex-bridge tender was sentenced after a 79-year-old grandmother died in a fall off a drawbridge in Palm Beach County, Florida, last year.

After Artissua Lafay Paulk pleaded guilty to manslaughter, the 44-year-old was sentenced to eight years of probation, the Miami Herald reported Thursday.

The incident happened on February 6 when she lifted the Royal Park Bridge, a decision that killed Carol Wright, according to law enforcement.

“She earned the right to live out her golden years in south Florida with her loving family in a manner that she chose to do. That was wrongfully taken from her,” attorney Lance Ivey, who represents Wright’s family, said in March.

The Herald article continued:

Investigators say Paulk told police she made two separate announcements through the loudspeaker to notify people the bridge was going to open, turned on the red drawbridge traffic lights, waited for a man who was running to get off the bridge, and lowered the traffic and pedestrian gates. She also said she went on the control tower’s balcony three times to check that there were no cars or pedestrians on the bridge before opening it, according to her arrest report.

But surveillance cameras reportedly did not show Paulk on the balcony before the bridge opened when the incident occurred.

The woman’s supervisor said the tender must switch the traffic lights to red, close all gates, and go onto the balcony several times to make sure it is safe to open the bridge.

Officials later determined Paulk was not using her cell phone in those moments. However, authorities found deleted texts between the woman and her supervisor talking about their next steps.

“The supervisor told Paulk to let police know that she walked outside on the control tower’s balcony three times before raising the bridge. The supervisor also instructed Paulk to delete the text messages,” the Herald report said.

Following the loss, Wright’s niece said of the incident, “I would have panicked, who wouldn’t have, you know? And at 79 years old we like to think our senses are sharp as they can be but who knows what you do in that situation.”

Paulk and her supervisor lost their jobs once authorities arrested the former bridge tender in March. A photo shows Paulk standing before a judge:

Florida Drawbridge Inc. eventually reached an $8 million settlement with the victim’s family members.