HORROR PLUNGE

Milwaukee Tourist Killed in Freak Drawbridge Accident

Richard Dujardin, 77, was caught in the middle of the bridge when it started to raise.

A tourist in Milwaukee fell to his death on Monday afternoon after a drawbridge was raised as he was walking across it. Richard Dujardin, 77, from Providence, Rhode Island, was vacationing in the city when he was crossing the Milwaukee River on the Kilbourn Avenue Bridge with his wife. Rosemarie Dujardin made it across the bridge but Richard was about halfway across when the bridge started to split open. He grabbed hold of a side rail as the halves of the bridge raised to a 90-degree angle, raising him around 70 feet in the air, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office report states. He lost his grip and fell, suffering a head injury as he slammed to the pavement. He was pronounced dead at the scene, investigators say. Although the bridge’s warning lights and bells were operational as the sections were raised and crossing arms were lowered at each end of the crossing, Rosemarie Dujardin says her husband was hard of hearing and wore glasses, while the medical examiner’s report added that he was using an iPad while walking. An investigation is ongoing.