"Woman killed when bridge shuts on top of her" by Meghan E. Irons, Maria Cramer and John R. Ellement | Globe Staff, December 31, 2013
A woman crossing the Meridian Street Bridge in East Boston was crushed to death Tuesday afternoon as she clung to one of the two plates of the lift bridge, which then closed on top of her, according to city administration officials.
“She was screaming and screaming and screaming,” said Waldina Garcia, a 47-year-old East Boston woman, who was waiting to cross the bridge. “It’s so horrible,” she said, weeping.
Thomas Foley, a Boston police detective sergeant working the scene, said police are still trying to piece together what went wrong on the bridge. He said the woman was clearly atop the bridge when it opened, but it is unclear whether she ignored warning lights and alarms or whether the guard manning the bridge failed to ensure the bridge was clear before opening it.
“That is the issue right now. The bridge was open when she fell,’’ Foley said. “Right now it looks like a tragic accident.”
--more--"
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
"Family seeks answers after woman dies on Boston bridge" by Meghan E. Irons | Globe Staff, January 02, 2014
Aura Garcia lived just around the corner from the Meridian Street bridge, a two-lane drawbridge over the Chelsea River. Usually the East Boston resident took the bus to Chelsea on the other side. But on Tuesday, Garcia walked.
She never made it across the span. Authorities said she was killed after the bridge started to rise while she was on it. As she screamed for help, the bridge operator began to lower it again. But by then Garcia had fallen, and the descending bridge came down on top of her, crushing her.
I can't imagine the horror going through her mind in those moments.
Mourners Wednesday placed teddy bears, flowers, and candles at the bridge. Some, weeping inconsolably, left notes: “Rest in Paradise!!!” read one. “You will be missed,’’ said another.
Garcia’s death on New Year’s Eve has left her family confounded and grief stricken — and demanding answers.
At the bridge in bitter cold Wednesday, her 16-year-old daughter, Nancy Garcia, wept....
(Blog editor sadly wonders if tears freeze)
Her childhood friend Stephanie Ruiz held her up, hushed her, and wiped her tears. Afterwards, Ruiz voiced what so many in East Boston have been asking:
“How could this happen?”
**************
Police said the bridge operator has been cooperating with authorities, and city officials are examining what kind of warnings are issued to pedestrians before the bridge is raised. Police homicide detectives also plan to review surveillance video on the bridge in hopes of determining exactly how the tragedy occurred.
**************
Garcia had a disability, was overweight and walked slowly, so she may have been taking her time to cross the bridge, friends and family said.
“She used to walk slowly because she didn’t like people rushing her,’’ Ruiz said....
A woman on the Chelsea side of the bridge at the time of the accident said she heard a loud foghorn and saw blinking lights before the bridge began to open and then heard frantic screams. Police said Garcia clung to the bridge as it rose and dangled over the cold water below. Fire officials said that at some point she fell to a concrete structure near the base of the bridge.
“I’m never going to see my mother again,’’ said Nancy Garcia. “I just want to know what truly happened. If there are cameras, I want to know what’s on them. It’s sad that this happened. And the year has just started.”
On Wednesday, a somber stream of friends of relatives mourned Aura Garcia. Outside the massive apartment complex where she lived, family members asked for privacy. A sister in Roxbury reached by phone sobbed.
By the bridge, a woman who said she was a close, long-time friend of Aura Garcia’s struggled for words.
“She was my friend,’’ she said, with tears welling.
Many who recalled Garcia, said she was a devoted mother, a trusted friend, a kind-hearted person....
Now residing in that massive apartment complex in the sky known as heaven, RIP.
--more--"
If not, her spirit will be haunting that bridge.
UPDATE: Operator of bridge in deadly accident has safe record
FURTHER UPDATE: Operators must now walk E. Boston drawbridge before raising it
