Richard Dujardin, a 77-year-old retired journalist, was on vacation with his wife in Milwaukee when the tragedy struck. A flight of over 20 meters that left him no escape.
The drawbridge has opened beneath him. So he died Richard Dujardin, 77, from Providence, Rhode Island, retired journalist. The man was on vacation with his wife in Milwaukee.
On Monday, Aug. 15, he was walking across the Kilbourn Avenue Bridge in downtown Wisconsin when the bridge began to heave, according to a local coroner’s report, People reported. His wife Rosemarie made it across the bridge in time, but Richard is “only halfway there,” the report says.
Panicked, the former reporter “grabbed” the railing as the bridge opened. He lasted 1-2 minutes but “eventually lost his footing” and fell from over 20 meters. According to media reports, he suffered a head injury in the fall. Milwaukee Police tried CPR but the 77-year-old failed.
He falls and falls several meters into an embankment: 54-year-old dies while walking with friends
According to the reconstructions, Richard and Rosemarie were going to mass when the drama happened. According to the coroner’s report, the pensioner was looking at his iPad as the bridge began to open.
His wife told investigators that her husband usually walked “slowly” and wore a hearing aid. Richard “did not notice” the “lights and alarms” that went off as the bridge began to open, the report said.
Richard and Rosemarie had been married for 54 years and had six children, NBC affiliate WTMJ-TV reported. Daughter Julianne Grew said her father “liked to travel” and has a good sense of humour. “He kicked the little things in life. He loved to laugh.”
Interim Public Works Commissioner Jerrel Kruschke said the bridge operator, with four years’ experience, was placed on leave after Monday’s incident, the AP said.