Rescue crews respond to suicide attempt

By Geeky Swedes · October 14th, 2009 · 11 Comments

A man jumped off the Aurora Bridge and was pulled from the water about 7:30 this morning, and early reports are he may survive. Medics began treatment near the Adobe buildings, and they took him to Harborview Medical Center. This is the third reported suicide attempt from the Aurora Bridge in just over a week. Yesterday, a Fremont Universe reader told us a man jumped to his death, and we reported last week about another suicide from the bridge.

Suicides are a big issue for Fremont — especially for the hundreds of people who work in the Adobe complex under the bridge. The state is preparing to build a suicide barrier on the Aurora Bridge beginning early next year. (Photo by WSDOT of a mock up panel installed as a test on March 29th.)

11 responses so far ↓

1 Michael // Oct 14, 2009 at 8:21 am

It was a 20 year old male who jumped. We live right near there and heard the sirens so checked the 911 mashup which has a live link to 911 radio. http://www.public911.com/911/

According( to the 911 radio) just now he was pulled from the water without a heart beat (asytole) and has a collapsed lung on the right side and they have been unable to get a heart beat but have inubated him (put a tube down his throat to breath) and started 2 IVs (to give him meds and keep his blood pressure up as he is probably bleeding internally). Although he is young Sadly I doubt he will survive given the height and his vitals
2 Silver // Oct 14, 2009 at 8:39 am

Yeah, I was monitoring on my scanner and heard the discussion between the medics and the trauma doctor at Harborview. They have ongoing CPR, which, as we all know, is only preformed on dead people.

At 20 years old he has plenty of time to turn his life around, if only he survives.

Adobe folks: I was thinking about you this morning. I hope many of you came in late to work and missed the whole thing.
3 ballardrocksnow // Oct 14, 2009 at 11:56 am

Public suicides are difficult to understand for me. They are doing it in public because they want to draw attention to their plight, but obviously its too late once they jump. So I guess this type of suicide is a giant middle finger to everyone.
4 Laura // Oct 14, 2009 at 1:56 pm

Suicidal people aren't trying to draw attention to anything. They are in horrid pain and so confused by it that they believe that self-murder is the only way to end the pain.
Please don't treat suicidality as an attention-getting stunt, folks. It's serious. Depression, which is its primary cause, is treatable. We're Fremont's low-fee therapy clinic, http://www.therapyproject.org– so we know.
5 christinamerhar // Oct 14, 2009 at 2:48 pm

These suicide attempts, and suicides, from the Aurora Bridge impact all of us in Seattle, especially those of us who live & work in the Queen Anne, Fremont and Wallingford neighborhoods. For those impacted by these suicides, there is a community event on Oct. 24 called “Take Back the Bridge”. We invite anyone to attend. More info at: http://www.takebackthebridge.org.
6 El Kabong // Oct 14, 2009 at 5:33 pm

Sigh - if you're going to off yourself, don't grandstand in front of others in some desperate bid for attention.
7 tiktok // Oct 15, 2009 at 7:12 am

“These suicide attempts, and suicides, from the Aurora Bridge impact all of us in Seattle, especially those of us who live & work in the Queen Anne, Fremont and Wallingford neighborhoods. “

I've been working in Fremont for eight years now, right at the bridge, and in all that time the only way I've ever found out about these suicides is a brief mention in the paper. I cycle under the Aurora bridge five days a week, and never come across any sign of a jumper. I think the suicides impact those who obsess on it and those who are unlucky enough to actually come across one, but other than that they're completely invisible. Three jumps this week? All I remember is great autumn weather.

Plus, as we prepare to spend millions on the fence, I wonder what the suicide rate was before the hotline phones were installed versus afterwards.
8 Gustavo // Oct 15, 2009 at 11:24 pm

I'd like to see a well-structured study that can actually show whether suicide barriers save lives, or merely move the suicides to somewhere more convenient.

There's a whole bunch of data that once you make it hard for someone to kill themselves at a specific bridge they tend not to kill themselves there, and one study of two bridges in Washington DC, but it not only fails to account for other methods of suicides, it does not normalize against fluctuating suicide rates at all.

There just isn't the data to demonstrate that suicide barriers save any lives, and at the cost of $8M, you have to begin wondering if the costs are worth it — could more lives be saved by applying the funding elsewhere.
9 facebook-1659619912 // Oct 29, 2009 at 10:59 pm

I can understand confusion and concerns about this issue. People who decide to jump from a bridge to end their pain and suffering are not seeking attention. They are like so many others who have suicidal thoughts, often ambivalent about the decision, and perhaps subconsciously clinging to the hope that something or someone will pull them to the life side. Suicide barriers provide extra moments for opportunity, but people need to be trained to provide suicide first aid. I encourage you all to attend a Living Works “Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training” and learn how to provide first aid. http://www.livingworks.net
Please support life.
10 facebook-1659619912 // Oct 30, 2009 at 12:59 am

I can understand confusion and concerns about this issue. People who decide to jump from a bridge to end their pain and suffering are not seeking attention. They are like so many others who have suicidal thoughts, often ambivalent about the decision, and perhaps subconsciously clinging to the hope that something or someone will pull them to the life side. Suicide barriers provide extra moments for opportunity, but people need to be trained to provide suicide first aid. I encourage you all to attend a Living Works “Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training” and learn how to provide first aid. http://www.livingworks.net
Please support life.
11 Liz // Jun 10, 2010 at 8:37 pm

What was his name ??