UPDATE
MILWAUKEE- Milwaukee Police say they are interviewing the bridge operator after a 77-year-old man died after falling from the Kilbourn Street drawbridge Monday afternoon.
According to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office, Richard Dujardin was caught at the midpoint of the drawbridge when it began to open. He held onto the handrail for roughly two minutes until the bridge reached a 90 degree angle, at which point he lost his grip and fell roughly 70 feet to the concrete below.
According to the Department of Public Works, the Kilbourn Street bridge is one of 20 movable bridges in Milwaukee and is operated remotely from a control tower along Water Street. DPW says each bridge is monitored by a pair of cameras, which the operators are told to look at before engaging the lift.
It’s unclear if protocols were followed leading up to Monday’s tragic accident. In a statement DPW said the operator was fully trained and had been employed as a bridge operator for four years. He’s since been put on administrative leave.
ORIGINAL POST
MILWAUKEE – A 77-year-old man died Monday after a bridge opened while he was walking across it.
The man was on the Kilbourn bascule bridge when it began to raise around 12:06 p.m. Monday, according to the Milwaukee Police Department.
The man, who is from Providence, Rhode Island, fell to his death.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office said that an autopsy would be performed on the man on Tuesday.
The Milwaukee Police Department released a statement Monday afternoon reading in-part, “The Milwaukee Police Department sends our sincere condolences to the decedent’s family and friends who lost their loved one during this incident.”
Death https://t.co/46YUMBaPrO
— Milwaukee Police (@MilwaukeePolice) August 15, 2022