Drawbridge Operator Arrested In Death Of 79-Year-Old Woman Who Fell When Bridge Opened

Artissua Lafay Paulk, 43, has been charged in the death of a 79-year-old woman who fell off a drawbridge when it opened last month.

On Thursday, Paulk was arrested and charged with manslaughter in relation to the occurrence on February 6. Carol Wright lost her life after the Royal Park Bridge was raised unexpectedly.

“I’m here with the police. I killed a lady on the bridge,” Paulk supposedly texted to her friend.

It is also reported that Paulk sent a text to her supervisor about lying to the police and later erased the texts.

Camera surveillance footage revealed that Paulk, the bridge tender, didn’t go out on the balcony to check for walkers. However, she had told the police that she had.

Wright, a grandmother, was walking her bike when the bridge began to rise, and she attempted 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,” stated a West Palm Beach police spokesperson.

Wright had only been 10 feet away from the end of the bridge when she slipped through a gap in the road.