A woman in Miami, Florida, was rushed to the hospital after falling from a fully raised drawbridge.
The unidentified woman fell from the Brickell Bridge around 10:40 a.m. local time on Saturday (June 28), according to the Miami Police Department.
Police said the woman had been warned not to cross the bridge before the incident, as it was about to be lifted to allow boat traffic to pass.
Highlights
- A woman in Miami fell about 100 feet from the fully raised Brickell drawbridge but survived and was hospitalized with serious injuries.
- She ignored warnings to leave the bridge, sat near its midpoint, out of view.
- Witnesses described the woman as possibly mentally unstable and intoxicated.
The person who reported the case told authorities that he had warned the woman "over the intercom to remove herself from the bridge" because he needed to lift it.
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The bridge operator said he saw the woman "remove herself from the bridge," but that she later "made her way to approx. the midpoint of the bridge" and sat down on the ground, out of his view.
Before 10:40 a.m, he "cleared the bridge again" which connects downtown Miami to Brickell, putting the crosswalk arms down to prevent pedestrians and vehicles from passing through.
Image credits: NBC 6 South Florida / YouTube
As the bridge lifted, the woman was seen clinging to the railings at the top of the bridge before falling and colliding with the road below. She reportedly fell 100 feet (approx. 30.5 meters).
Robert Bruno, who recorded the incident on his phone, told The Miami Herald that the woman "held on for dear life" before the fall.
"Not many people realized what happened at first," Bruno said. "It was intense."
The bridge operator said he had warned the woman that the bridge was about to be lifted
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Connor Walsh, another witness, told Fox affiliate WSVN that the injured woman was "in shock" after the incident and that she seemed to be experiencing mental health issues.
"She was on the ground, kind of in shock but like rolling around," said Walsh. "I was trying to tell her, to hold her down, but she was just in shock."
One witness said the woman "wasn't in a good mental state"
"He came up on the road here, stopped and then ran over, pulled out the tourniquet, and we kind of tried to stop the bleeding and everything," described Walsh.
"Yeah, poor girl was going through it, because she wasn't in a good mental state. Three police cars, the medic … it was pretty, pretty hectic."
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The bridge keeper told police that the woman had been "causing a scene" prior to the fall.
One witness claimed that she was "dancing and playing" before the incident, ABC affiliate WPLG reported.
Another eyewitness said that she appeared to be "under the influence of something" before the bridge began to rise.
The unidentified woman was rushed to the hospital after the fall on June 28
Image credits: WPLG Local 10 / YouTube
According to Walsh, when police came, "it was a big struggle to hold her still and stop making it worse."
While assisting the woman, one officer was injured by shattered glass and taken to the hospital for treatment.
The bridge operator told police that the woman had been "causing a scene"
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The woman and the officer were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital by Miami Fire Rescue.
The officer was treated at the hospital and later released, officer M. Vega of the Miami Police Department told Bored Panda via email. The woman remains at the hospital.
The woman ignored the man’s warning and sat near the middle of the bridge, out of his view
Image credits: NBC 6 South Florida / YouTube
This is the fourth incident to occur at the Brickell Bridge in recent years. Last year, a woman jumped from the bridge into the Miami River. Fortunately, a boat captain issued a mayday call and guided fire rescue to the scene, saving her life.
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In 2023, a man was seen climbing to the top of the bridge as it was rising.
According to a report by NBC Miami, the bridge had already gone back down by the time officers arrived at the scene. The man did a celebratory push-up after the climb and then fled.
In 2021, a 58-year-old man lost his life after falling off the bridge. Investigators believe he was a cyclist who had attempted to beat the drawbridge.
Social media users were alarmed by the video of the woman's fall from the bridge
