I did not see the victim, bridge tender says of woman who fell to death

Christine Veronica Gulsaran, 24, employed with Florida Drawbridges Inc. about 1 year

MIAMI – Local 10 News is has learned more about the bridge tender who was on duty the day a woman fell to her death from a drawbridge bridge in Miami.

The bridge house sits high along the Miami River, allowing boats to ease through the area of Northwest 12th Street and 11th Avenue.

But how clear is the vantage point for workers from the control tower?

Our search for answers took us to a southwest Miami-Dade neighborhood to find someone who would know best: Christine Veronica Gulsaran, the bridge tender on duty that fateful afternoon.

It was Tuesday when rescuers rushed to the bridge after it went up as 61-year-old Olga Aponte was walking across.

The woman gripped a side rail before falling 40 feet to the pavement below.

Gulsaran told police she did not see the victim.

Gulsaran's mother answered the door, but it wasn't long before the 24-year-old bridge tender surfaced.

"I don't have anything to say. Please leave," she said. "If you have any questions, you can call the main office."

Gulsaran has been on the job about one year as an employee with Florida Drawbridges Inc., which is contracted through Florida Department of Transportation.

Aponte's family is still in search of answers. Local 10 News learned Thursday that the woman died of internal bleeding after suffering a broken ankle, broken ribs and a collapsed lung.

"It doesn't make a lot of sense. It really doesn't," Aponte's grandson said.

Follow Terrell Forney on Twitter @TVTerrell

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About the Author:

Terrell Forney joined Local 10 News in October 2005 as a general assignment reporter. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, but a desire to escape the harsh winters of the north brought him to South Florida.