Florida cyclist killed trying to beat drawbridge over Miami River

‘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’

(Facebook Fred Medina)

An experienced cyclist fell to his death after trying to beat a rising drawbridge over a river in Miami, according to police.

Fred Medina, 58, was riding his bike around 6 am when he ignored warning signs that the drawbridge over Miami River began rising.

“He tried to overtake the opening,” Miami police spokeswoman Kenia Fallat told the Miami Herald.

Mr Medina's friend, Stephen Tannenbaum, told local news WSVN that he had been riding with another friend who had crossed ahead on the bridge, on their daily route from Aventura to Key Biscayne.

“He slid down the bridge and fell in between the section of the bridge that moves and the fixed part of the roadway,” Mr Tannenbaum said.

“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.”

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Mr Tennenbaum said Mr Medina was an experienced cyclist who rode four to five times a week but made a massive mistake that cost his life, leaving behind two children and a wife.

He would wake up at 4:45 am for his early morning bike rides and logged 22,008 miles last year, according to the Miami Herald and his Strava fitness tracker.

Mr Medina was an entertainment and technology executive working in Latin American media, previously at BBC, A+ Networks Latin America, and HBO, according to his LinkedIn profile.

”Fred had an impressive track record in the world of television and media,” Enrique R. Martinez, chairman of the Latin American Council for Media Advertising, said in a statement.

Miami's Downtown Development Authority has been working with the Florida Department of Transportation to install gates that would block people from going under the arms, Miami Commissioner Ken Russell said told the outlet.

“To me, this is about cycling safety and making sure the city, county and state have the right infrastructure to make cycling safe for everyone in the city,” he said.