HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Police are investigating the death of an 80-year-old man who was left dangling from an open drawbridge over the Intracoastal Waterway.

Hollywood police and the family of 80-year-old Desmond Nolan are trying to figure out how he fell from the drawbridge.

Nolan was walking over the drawbridge at about 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon when his life came to an abrupt end. Witnesses said he was halfway across the bridge, in plain view of the bridge attendant's office, when the alarms went off and, with little pause, the drawbridge started to lift.

Drivers said they saw Nolan and honked their horns, trying to get the operator's attention, but the bridge continued to go up.

"He was holding onto the grate, where we would be driving over with our cars. He was holding onto the grates, and I couldn't believe he was holding on for as long as he did, quite honestly," a witness said.

Hollywood police said Nolan fell 60 feet onto the concrete bridge below. He was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police investigators and Nolan's family want to know how this could happen.

"He fought for his life. He was hanging onto a bridge," said Nolan's daughter, Sue Neale.

Many want to know how the attendant could not have seen Nolan. A different attendant said that while Nolan was across from the office, he was not visible on the security cameras.

Nolan's family is launching its own investigation with Fort Lauderdale attorney Jay Cohen. Family members said that while nothing can justify the final moments of Nolan's life, they hope it never happens again

His daughters described Nolan as a caring father, grandfather and husband.

"He was just upbeat, full of life," said Nolan's daughter, Debbie McCann.

Nolan, an Illinois snowbird, lived in a condo in Hollywood, and his daughters said he especially loved to walk to the beach.

"He was a self-made man. He would talk about making goals and how important that was in your life," McCann said. "My mom's really going to miss him. It's going to be very, very difficult for her."

The Department of Transportation oversees the bridge but said the daily operation is run by a separate company. That company did not respond to Local 10's calls for comment.

The Hollywood Police Department's investigation into Nolan's death continues.