Woman crushed to death by Boston drawbridge
Source: AP-Excite
BOSTON (AP) - A woman walking across a Boston drawbridge was crushed to death Tuesday after an operator raising the bridge for a boat to pass heard her screams and lowered it, accidentally trapping her between the two plates, investigators said.
The woman was crossing the bridge around noon when a bridge operator, not aware that she was on the bridge, began raising it for the boat in the Chelsea River. The woman grabbed hold of one of the sides of the bridge and the operator immediately lowered it when he heard her scream, but she became trapped in between the plates and suffered massive trauma, police said.
"I couldn't see her, but I could hear her," witness Waldina Garcia, 47, told the Boston Globe. "She was screaming and screaming and screaming."
The woman, who wasn't identified, was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators called her death on the Meridian Street Bridge, which connects Chelsea and East Boston, an accident.
FULL story at link.
Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140101/DAB1NKEO1.html
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the article says its not certain if she started crossing before or after the warning lights and alarms went off.
As soon as the operator heard her screams, he stopped the drawbridge, but it was too late. Horrific way to go...poor operator will probably hear those screams for the rest of his life. 
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/21921369?source=wapi&referrer=kh.google.com
The bridge was rehabilitated not long ago and appears to be in good condition. Besides the Chelsea Street Bridge, the McArdle Bridge is the only other toll-free option to drive from East Boston and Logan Airport without heading North. Embedded in the walkway of the bridge is a small brass "Coleman Bros." plaque featuring a horsehead logo. I suspect they were the original contractor when the bridge was built. Coleman Bros. was a heavy-steel construction company that is also credited for their work at Boston's Fenway Park in 1934.
https://www.google.com/maps/preview#!data=!1m4!1m3!1d11788!2d-71.04492!3d42.3842!2m1!1e3&fid=7
The deck of the McArdle Bridge, for both cars and pedestrians, is made of steel mesh. For some of us, it brings on a little vertigo, especially if looking down while walking across because you can look straight through to the river below. This is also not a bridge to be crossed while wearing Stiletto heels!
Overall, the McArdle Bridge is a tough workhorse that serves as vital link for it's surrounding neighborhoods.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/andrew-mcardle-bridge-boston
http://olgp.net/chs/bridge/bridges.htm
From other source, this bridge was rebuilt in 2010 by The Massachuetts Department of Transportation. It looks like they looked at the bridge, determined that it was to expensive to replace it with a bridge tall enough for ships to go under (or a tunnel under the river) then revamped the bridge till someone comes up with a plan to replace it. The options are expensive, this bridge is cheap.
