Driver stuck on bridge still unknown

STURGEON BAY - Sturgeon Bay police continue to search for the woman whose car was stuck on the open Maple/Oregon Street bridge, although county officials say the bridge tender spoke with her briefly after the incident.

Police Capt. Arleigh Porter said police don’t expect to give her a ticket; they just want to talk to her to learn more about the incident last Thursday, when the bridge tender raised the bridge with a car still stuck between the gates. Witnesses said a young woman in the car was trapped on the bridge at a very steep angle for nearly two minutes.

Highway commissioner John Kolodziej told FOX 11 it appears the woman had almost completely crossed the bridge, got confused by the gates, lights and horn, and backed up across the bridge. Once he noticed the car, the bridge tender stopped the opening when the bridge was open between 22 and 28 degrees – short of its total, almost vertical, opening. Kolodziej said the bridge operator should have seen the car on the cameras, but did not comment on whether or not there would be disciplinary action, saying it was a private personnel matter.

Meanwhile, Department of Transportation officials are still investigating the incident. A DOT spokesman said the bridge’s cameras did not record due to a computer malfunction.