MIAMI (WSVN) - A cyclist has died after, authorities said, he attempted to cross the South Miami Bridge as it was rising.
According to City of Miami Police, the cyclist, identified as 58-year-old Fred Medina, tried to make it across the bridge that connects downtown Miami to Brickell, at around 6 a.m., Wednesday.
”He slid down the bridge and fell in between the section of the bridge that moves and the fixed part of the roadway,” said Stephen Tannenbaum.
It’s a freak accident that now lives with Stephen, who lost his friend, Fred, early Wednesday morning.
“Our friend Steve, the other guy who was there, turned back and waited, and he looked up, and Fred was on the bridge on the draw bridge section as it was going up,” Stephen said.
Police said Fred fell to his death as he was riding his bike along the South Miami Avenue Bridge, which connects downtown Miami and Brickell.
“When officers arrived, they found an unresponsive man on the platform of the bridge,” said Miami Police officer Kenia Fallat.
Police said Fred was possibly trying to beat the bridge as it was rising up and got stuck, but despite his efforts to hang on, he would not survive.
“I don’t know if he realized he had gone too far, and I guess the bridge tender didn’t hear my friend yelling as he was up in the air.”
Stephen said Fred was an experienced cyclist who he rode with four to five times a week, and believes Fred made a massive mistake that sadly took his life.
“We’re used to getting hurt every once and a while, you fall sometimes or big crashes, but this is not something anyone could imagine would happen.”
Friends said Fred leaves behind two children and a wife.
Police said there is surveillance video that they will review during the investigation.
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