Woman Crushed To Death On East Boston Drawbridge
BOSTON (CBS/AP) — Boston police say a woman was killed after the drawbridge she was walking on started to go up.
Investigators are calling the death on the Meridian Street Bridge just after noon on Tuesday an accident.
The victim has been identified as 46-year-old Aura Garcia.
Her daughter says her mother was walking to a medical appointment in Chelsea at the time.
Police said the bridge operator was not aware that Garcia was on the drawbridge when it was raised to allow a boat to pass below.
The bridge operator heard a scream and immediately lowered the bridge, but Garcia then became trapped between the bridge plates and suffered massive trauma.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said the distraught bridge operator was taken to a hospital for evaluation. He's been placed on unpaid leave.
The bridge spanning the Chelsea River between East Boston and Chelsea was closed for several hours after the incident.
WBZ-TV's Sera Congi reports
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