CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – An elderly couple received a citation Monday after mistakenly driving onto the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge’s pedestrian lane.

Officers with the Charleston Police Department (CPD) were dispatched to the Ravenel Bridge around 1:30 p.m. after receiving multiple reports of a vehicle driving northbound on the pedestrian walkway.

According to the agency, officers learned the out-of-town driver unintentionally entered the walkway from East Bay Street while trying to follow directions from their navigation system.

“Considering the vehicle’s position and the absence of turnaround space, our officers safely escorted the driver along the walkway, taking care to avoid any pedestrians, until they reached the Mount Pleasant side of the bridge,” said Sgt. Anthony Gibson, a spokesman for the Charleston Police Department.

The couple drove slowly through the pedestrian lane toward Mount Pleasant and was able to merge back onto the road without incident and the driver was issued a traffic citation.

No pedestrians or bicyclists were hurt. 

The Charleston Police Department is working with the South Carolina Department of Transportation to recommend modifications to the area in hopes of preventing future incidents like this.

“Let’s keep those vehicles off the path; the answer is a resounding ‘no’ to anything with an engine on the walkway,” the agency said.