It happened last year in Lantana (Florida) and the bridge tender was fired as a result.
Fortunately, the driver this Honda Accord appears to have escaped injury. According to a report by , the driver left the scene after the horrendous incident. This video was obtained by the news outlet through a public records request. It shows the driver’s near-disaster.
It took place in October 2021 at the Ocean Avenue Bridge in Lantana (Florida). The Honda crosses the bridge and passes under the first gate as it closes. The security camera does not record a bicycle being on the bridge at any time. Evidently, the gate for automobile traffic was closed on the opposite side. The driver stopped right before the bridge’s hinged section. The bridge opens after approximately 30 seconds with the car positioned mostly on the span. While the front tires are on bridge, the fascia is on fixed roadway. The bridge rises quickly, and the tires fall into the gap within seconds. This makes escape difficult. Yikes.
The bridge helped the car to cross the gap and the driver was able to get out of the car as the bridge fell. The bridge was back down and the gate, presumably raised, the driver drove off. According to an incident report, the bridge operator said that they didn’t see any cars on the bridge until it was closing. With the rear tires at the span, they continued to lower bridge. The incident report claimed that the car fled the scene, but didn’t return. It also stated that the bridge operator had lowered the bridge until it was closing. The bridge operator was fired. Although we suspect that there was damage to the Honda’s nose, the driver was able drive away. An earlier incident that involved a bridge and another person led to the WPTV investigation. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Keep safe, everyone.