FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — When the Royal Park Bridge in West Palm Beach opened beneath Carol Wright in February, the frightening plummet to her death left behind more than a void in the lives of her loved ones. She left behind a legacy — one of increased safety measures and access to opportunity.
The attorney representing Wright’s family, Lance Ivey, announced on Friday that the wrongful death lawsuit was settled for $8.3 million and extensive safety changes for drawbridge operators.
Florida Drawbridges Inc., the corporation responsible for managing the Royal Park Bridge where Wright lost her life, agreed to begin conducting criminal background checks on all bridge tenders beginning this month. The corporation also agreed to schedule recertification trainings for all of its bridge tenders, rotate the audits it conducts with out-of-area supervisors for quality assurance, and require all bridge tenders watch a 23-minute video on Wright’s life and death.
The video features Wright’s friends and family reflecting on who the 79-year-old was before she dangled for seven minutes and fell to her death: a longtime journalist, a lifelong feminist and a person who “believed in the downtrodden.”
As part of the settlement, Ivey announced that a scholarship will be created in Wright’s name at the University of Miami, Wright’s alma mater. The scholarship, named the Carol Easterling Wright Scholarship, will provide $30,000 dollars to the school annually for 30 years. The $900,000 will be distributed to “deserving students so that they may obtain an education that might not otherwise be available,” Ivey said at the settlement announcement in West Palm Beach on Friday.
Ivey’s announcement took place less than five minutes from the bridge in question, which connects West Palm Beach to the island of Palm Beach.
Wright was walking her bike across the bridge on a return visit from her favorite bookstore in Palm Beach on Feb. 6 when the gates lowered and the bridge rose. She hung onto the railing for seven minutes before she slipped and crashed into the underlying concrete. Passers-by called 911 — one call is even included in the 23-minute video bridge tenders must now watch as part of the settlement — but by the time help arrived, Wright was dead.
Police found that the tender monitoring the bridge as Wright made her way across, Artissua Paulk, violated protocol in operating the drawbridge.
Paulk, and her supervisor, Kathie Harper, have both since been fired. Paulk was arrested for manslaughter by culpable negligence in March.
All bridge tenders for Florida Drawbridges, who are contracted by the Florida Department of Transportation, are required to walk outside the tower at least three times before opening a bridge to make sure no pedestrians or vehicles are near the gate. Investigations showed that Paulk did not check the gate. Also, reports showed that Paulk texted her supervisor about Wright’s death and followed her supervisor’s instructions to lie to police about the accident.
Ivey said Wright’s family walked away from “a lot of money” in order to arrive at a settlement that included changes to corporate procedures.
“From day one, we told (Florida Drawbridges and Artissua Paulk) that we weren’t just going to take the money and run,” Ivey said. “There had to be substantive, fundamental changes. And that’s what we did.”
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