WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The woman convicted of manslaughter in connection with the death of a West Palm Beach woman who fell from the Royal Park Bridgein February 2022 has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for violating probation.
Artissua Lafaye Paulk, 46, of Greenacres, was a bridge tender operating the Royal Park Bridge when Carol Wright was walking her bike across the bridge and it suddenly started going up.
Wright, 79 at the time, was just 10 feet away from the end of the bridge when she fell to her death through a gap in the road.
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Paulk and her supervisor Kathie Harper, also Paulk's mother-in-law, were fired shortly afterthe incident. Paulk faced one count of manslaughter by culpable negligence in the death of Wright.
In January 2023,Paulk reached a plea dealthat included two days in jail, 200 hours of community service and eight years of probation. She was also ordered to write a letter of apology to the victim's sisters.
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A year later in January 2024, Paulk admitted to violating her probation after failing a urine drug test.
Paulk appeared in court Tuesday, almost a year after violating probation, and the judge sentenced her to 10 years in prison.
