A suicidal person man threatening to jump off the Aurora Bridge tied up traffic heading into town this morning as emergency officials negotiated with the person for well over an hour. That’s why there was a news helicopter hovering over south Phinney and north Fremont this morning.
They were still talking to the person shortly before 9 a.m. It won’t help in this situation, but the state DOT is considering adding a suicide prevention fence to the Highway 99 bridge.
Thanks, Tyler, for the tip.
Update: At approximately 9:30 a.m., the person either jumped or fell, landing in a parking lot more than 100 feet below. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center. There’s no word on whether he survived. The man did not survive. Suicide negotiators have said it appears he slipped (it was raining at the time), rather than purposely jumped.
10 responses so far ↓
1 Nina // Nov 3, 2008 at 10:56 am
Darn, before I clicked the link I said at least they didn’t jump but now I see the update.
2 Sheila // Nov 3, 2008 at 11:26 am
The sooner we get the netting or fence the better!
3 rob // Nov 3, 2008 at 11:45 am
wonder if it was the same person from Halloween night? Northbound was all blocked off with several police cars, but no vehicles.
4 anonymous // Nov 3, 2008 at 3:01 pm
“The sooner we get the netting or fence the better!”
Because that will obviously deter people who want to kill themselves. Just because someone is depressed doesn’t mean they’re stupid; it’s not as if there aren’t any other ways to commit suicide. As many others have noted, any money spent on such a thing would be far more useful if invested in increasing mental health services capacity.
5 Whopper // Nov 3, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Couldn’t wait ’til after rush hour? WHo says suicide isn’t the most selfish of acts.
6 Sheila // Nov 3, 2008 at 6:09 pm
anonymous – perhaps you should look into this more. Jumping from a bridge is an impulsive act and if there are deterrents, such as netting or a fence, they are less likely to try to commit suicide another way. This has been proven before with other bridges. Less people jump from bridges, but the suicide rate doesn’t go up in other methods.
7 Sheila // Nov 3, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Also, it’s really unsafe for people under the bridge who are harmed by the jumpers.
8 Tiktok // Nov 3, 2008 at 10:37 pm
How many people under the bridge have ever been harmed by the jumpers?
9 witness // Nov 3, 2008 at 11:13 pm
I was under the bridge today, at the bus stop just south of the bridge, and I saw him fall. I can honestly say the experience has harmed me tremendously. I also believe that the many homes and businesses under the bridge feel emotionally harmed by the numerous bodies they have found in their parking lots. Many jumpers, like today’s, dont land in the water.
But to anonymous’ post about the cost of building a barrier: I wonder what the expense was to have three fire engines, four medic trucks, and countless police cars, totaling over a dozen first responders tied up for over three hours this morning. Never mind the expense to individuals and businesses when traffic is held up on I-5, Aurora, and Fremont for hours. In the long term, the suicide barrier might actually be cost-effective if it prevents the 5 or 6 jumps every year. Yes, people may find another way to kill themselves. But overdosing on medication in the privacy in your home is much less of a cost, financially and emotionally, on the public.
I agree that more funding for mental help would be great. But I also think that if we have a specific public site that invites impulsive jumping, we should do something more to prevent it.
10 Allison // Nov 4, 2008 at 10:03 am
I’m all for the net. I’m tired of the disruptions to traffic and the disturbing images of seeing these poor lost souls thinking of ending their lives. Seen it too many times on the bridge.
Maybe it’s a bit selfish of me, but the incident yesterday made it take 2.5 hours to get from my place to the McCaw Hall and it cost me 2 hours in wages. Work’s a bit slow this week, I could have done without that.
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