Man Survives Suicide Jump Off Manhattan Bridge

A helicopter and police boat rushed to the East River near the Main Street section of Brooklyn Bridge Park this afternoon, where a man miraculously survived after jumping from the Manhattan Bridge. A firefighter at the scene in DUMBO told us it was believed to be a suicide attempt, but it was unclear how the man had survived the fall into the icy waters and was still able to walk to a waiting ambulance.

The Hudson River bridges have phones for witnesses to report suicides, but no such phones exist on the East River crossings. A 2007 study estimated that one out of ten suicides in New York City are committed by tourists who come to town for that specific purpose. And the Manhattan Bridge has been used for suicide since its completion; this New York Times article [pdf] from 1914 details a grizzly suicide not far from the site of today's rescue.

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By John Del Signore in News on January 27, 2009 4:00 PM

Comments [rss]

Kt

"A firefighter at the scene in DUMBO told us it was believed to be a suicide attempt, but it was unclear how the man had survived the fall into the icy waters and was still able to walk to a waiting ambulance."

It's mid-summer. The waters of the East River are *far* from being icy at this time of year.

John Del Signore

Who has time to actually read when there are so many imbecilic comments to make? But you're right, it is mid-summmer... now.

NannyState

Was it luck or just good form going into the water? Either way, if he doesn't get the attention he wants out of this, there are far less historic and poetic ways to check out...and it won't be blogged.

MrCow

i bet on the way down he didn't want to die

famdoc

Cost of rescue effort, ambulance transport, emergency room evaluation: $40,000.

Guess who pays?

Suicide is selfish in many ways, not least of which is the economic cost to society and surviving families.

Felix Hoenikker

No doubt, major shrinkage in that river today.

Wza

FAIL!

moocowtoo

Did anyone ever see the movie: The Bridge. Crazy stuff, a documentary about people who jumped off the SF bridge (and didn't); whacky whacky movie.

rcltrh

If you stopped to use one of the phones to report the suicide attempt, the NYPD scum traffic department would give you a ticket, so good thing they don't have them. Wasn't it in Brooklyn a while back that they gave a man a ticket who had stopped to help someone who was hit by a car that sped away? On a positive note if this man swallowed some of the East River water or had an open sore he could still die from an infection in a few days, so I still have hope for him.

widefive

Come on, do you really think someone that comes to the city to kill himself should be called a tourist?!

kearnj

That had to be Snake Shit flying that bird.

Stewdio
I think it's really cute how the headline from the old NY Times PDF was created automatically by text-reading scanner software and mistook the capital "i" with a blotch underneath for an exclamation point :
```
JUMPS FROM BR!DGE.
```

pickycapellit

Ha!

longacre

Amazing pics!

a.) The guy was able to walk to the ambulance?!

b.) After the US Airways Hudson incident, there was some outcry over NYPD's Aviation unit having some major maintenance issues if their their "secret" counter-terrorism super chopper was being used for rescue missions rather than their rescue choppers. According to the first pic, it was used again today.

jaycjay

"A helicopter, the Water Taxi and police boat were all spotted in the river"

A helicopter was in the river? Man, that Sully can fly anything!

jaycjay

Damn, now the whole article has been rewritten, and that cool sentence has been lost.

In my mind's eye, though, I am still spotting that helicopter in the river.

moocowtoo

Guy took a chilly bath on a cold cold evening!

Felix Hoenikker

I guess Clarence missed this one.

Rocknrope

How do you know it wasn't Clarence?

CR

Tuli Kupferberg again?

thefacts

Obscure. Thought the same thing myself.

rcltrh

Was it Madoff? Thain? Lewis? Some other corrupt thief of Wallstreet? *crosses fingers*

ed_Extinct

with the state of the economy i can only assume we will be seeing/hearing more about bridge jumps.

schizofriendly

Folks need to know what methods don't work. It's time the city installs a reliable, tidy, and compassionate deliverance system like the one Edward G. Robinson employs in Soylent Green.