Man, 77, who fell to his death when drawbridge opened did not see signals because he was looking at iPAD!
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN: Richard Charles Dujardin, 77, who was on vacation in Milwaukee with his wife when he died in a horrific fall as a downtown bridge opened, was looking at his iPad, officials said. Dujardin, a former religion reporter who resided in Providence, Rhode Island, was traveling with his wife, Rose-Marie, across the Kilbourn Avenue Bridge over the Milwaukee River on Monday, August 15, according to a report from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Richard was walking while using an iPad and was still in the middle of the bridge when it started to rise, according to the report. "The lights, bells, and arms came down at each end of the bridge, however, Richard was hard of hearing and it is thought that he didn't notice them," the report added. When the bridge started to open, Dujardin who was moving slowly and had a hearing aid, tried to catch up to his wife, but he was unable to do so in time. He clung to the side railing for one to two minutes while the bridge continued to rise. The medical examiner reported that Dujardin sustained head trauma and died at the scene from his wounds.
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Police reportedly attempted CPR when they arrived on the scene and paramedics also used a defibrillator. The Dujardin family was scheduled to go home on Monday, August 15, according to the report. Meanwhile, questions lingered over how the bridge operator, who was in control of it from a distance, could have missed the man on the bridge on the CCTV footage as further information about the man's death came to light on Tuesday, August 16. Before opening the bridge, the operator must check two cameras that are recording live video of it, according to the medical examiner's findings. The operator would be questioned by detectives.
Richard Charles Dujardin, a former religion reporter for the Providence Journal and a Rhode Island resident, was vacationing in Milwaukee with his wife when he died in a gruesome fall as a downtown bridge opened, authorities said.
— Providence Journal (@projo) August 16, 2022
https://t.co/OapspCUCdS
Milwaukee police however stated that while they had no reason to believe the bridge operator had committed a crime, their investigation was still open, according to Daily Mail. The operator was properly trained and in his fourth year as a bridge operator having handled hundreds of bridge openings, according to Jerrel Kruschke, temporary commissioner of public works. Kruschke said in a statement, "He is currently on leave following this incident and was connected with the City’s Employee Assistance Program for counseling.” Kruschke also added that remotely operating bridges is a safe and common industrial practice.
According to Urban Milwaukee, since 2017, there have been 87% more openings on the Kilbourn Avenue Bridge. Kruschke added that remotely operating bridges is a safe and common industrial practice. Meanwhile, the Religion News Association stated that Dujardin, who was a well-known religion reporter covered religion for the Providence Journal in Rhode Island for 36 years. He was the organization's president in the 1990s and received its lifetime achievement award in 2015. An article posted to the association's website read, "Dujardin traveled widely to cover Pope John Paul II, interviewed a future pope and a past U.S. president, covered Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell, and the Dalai Lama.”
