A former Florida bridgetender was sentenced to 10 years in prison after violating probation in the death of a 79-year-old woman who fell from an open span of a bridge while walking her bike.
Artissua Lafaye Paulk, 46, learned her fate on Tuesday in the death of 79-year-old Carol Wright, online court records show. Paulk pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge and was initially sentenced to eight years of probation . She violated her probation by failing a drug test, failing to complete mandatory community service, and not paying court fines.
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Prosecutors argued for 15 years in prison, while her defense attorney asked the court to reinstate her probation, saying she was making progress and was a “different person now.”
As Law&Crime previously reported, Paulk did not look out her balcony to see if anyone was on the Royal Park Bridge on the afternoon of Feb. 6, 2022. Wright fell through the bridge opening and died because of this, authorities said.
Paulk denied seeing the woman while opening the bridge, according to the arrest affidavit . She maintained that she stepped outside on the balcony of her bridge tower, as required, to ensure no one was on the span. But police said surveillance footage showed Paulk did not step outside.