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tampa bay area bridgeslocal non-skyway bridges that have jumper history • updated: 12.09.20 | |
 the bridges of tampa bay. larger. • 9 skyway bridge
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| 12.09.20: man sets himself on fire, jumps, and hangs himself from the Rowlett Park bridge in Tampa. |
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12.11.20, iontb.com, Tampa Police discuss recent suicide at the Rowlett Park Bridge Tampa Police released information on a recent suicide investigation that led to much speculation on social media. This social media conversation included disturbing video from the scene. While information regarding suicide investigations are generally not released in deference to the survivors, Chief Dugan and the family have authorized the release of the following synopsis. At approximately 12:43 p.m. on December 9, 2020, the Tampa Police received a call from a witness regarding a male on fire and hanging from the Rowlett Park bridge. Tampa Police Officers and Tampa Fire Rescue were immediately dispatched to the scene. TPD and TFR responded and, as quickly as possible, retrieved the adult male who was suspended from the bridge. Officers lowered the man to the river, attempting to provide immediate emergency first aid and comfort. He was then placed on a stretcher and transported to Tampa General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Evidence collected at the scene suggested this was an intentional suicide. Interviews with the family regarding the mental health history and prior actions of the 35 year-old support this conclusion. While this remains an active investigation, the concerns for those in mental health crisis are in the public interest. Tampa Police Detectives continue to work with the family of the 35-year-old male. The family has shared his history of mental health issues and they understand the concern of the public as well. Tampa Police continue their ongoing partnership with the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay to ensure that the family has access to any help and psychological first aid they may need during this extremely difficult time. "This tragedy is an additional trauma for the family, the responding officers, paramedics, and the community who were witnesses. With the holiday season upon us, loneliness, and pandemic fatigue are even greater concerns for those in mental health crisis", said Chief Brian Dugan. "It is important we look out for our family, our neighbors, and each other. Help can be a phone call away, whether you call the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay at 211 or call 911 in an imminent emergency someone is there to answer your call". Any additional updates will be available upon conclusion of the investigation. iontb facebook article posts any more info is welcome. |
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06.03.18:
woman killed after jumping from an i-4 overpass then struck by a tractor trailer.
(18) unknown |
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06.03.18, iontb/fb • iontb/fb • iontb.com, The Florida Highway Patrol is currently investigating a suicide on I-4 in Hillsborough County. The incident occurred at approximately 1:33 p.m on Sunday, June 3, 2018 on westbound I-4. According to troopers, a female was observed sitting on the US-92 overpass of I-4 with her feet dangling over the side. The female jumped from the overpass, landed upon I-4, and suffered fatal injuries. It was determined that the subject was struck by a tractor trailer after landing on I-4. As of 6:25pm, all lanes re-opened. FHP Troopers worked to identify the deceased individual. On Tuesday, June 5th, they released the following photo and sketch asking for public’s assistance in identifying the individual. Later in the day, FHP Troopers have identified the deceased individual as a 23-year-old Tampa resident after family members listed her as missing with the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office late on Monday evening. Troopers notified family members Tuesday afternoon and confirmed the identification. The FHP sincerely thanks and appreciates all members of the public who attempted to assist with the identification of the young woman. (our cousin did the exact same thing a few decades ago, all because his girlfriend dumped him. flung himself off an overpass into the path of a semi-truck. idiot.)    any more info is welcome. |
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02.19.18: Former Florida Rep. jumps from Tampa overpass Robert Wallace, 65 |
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02.21.18, tampabay.com, TAMPA — Former Florida state Rep. Robert Wallace ended his life Monday night by jumping from a Dale Mabry Highway overpass, records show. He was 65. At least one witness saw Wallace plunge 40 to 50 feet onto Gunn Highway, according to a Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s report. A 911 call came in at 7:02 p.m., and first responders found his body lying on a rock surface next to railroad tracks. The report lists the manner of death as suicide. Wallace, known to many as Rob, served in the state House representing northwest Hillsborough and northern Pinellas counties, beginning in 1994, when he collected signatures to get on the ballot and then beat an incumbent who outspent him. He rode a Republican surge to Tallahassee in the midterm period of the Clinton administration. "Truman said that money doesn’t win elections, people do. I wanted to prove that," he said after his victory. "The key was reaching people, going out walking the district door-to-door and waving signs on Dale Mabry and in downtown Tarpon Springs." After the election, he returned to the street with a "thank you" sign. "He was a good and decent man," said the Democrat he ousted, Brian P. Rush, on Wednesday. "He had a different philosophy, but I could sense that he was honorable. He really wanted to be in public service." The philosophy was a conservative one. During Wallace’s time in the state House, he opposed new taxes and bills that he considered to be government overreach. He voted against mandatory swimming pool fences and bicycle helmets. He worked to cap fines for environmental violations. "He never wanted power; he just wanted to make a difference in people’s lives," said Tampa attorney Gilbert Singer. Craig Latimer, Hillsborough County supervisor of elections, said Wallace’s attempts to reduce spending were meticulous. Friends would tease that he stayed up all night reading budgets. He served until 2002. Term limits returned him to Tampa, where he owned and operated a civil and environmental engineering company, Environmental Engineering Consultants. "I came to the belief that man can cause problems and man can solve those problems, and I wanted to be on the cleanup team," he explained on his website. His engineering degree was from the University of South Florida, which he attended after graduating from Tampa Catholic High School. Former state Sen. John Grant worked closely with Wallace for about eight years and said he was saddened by news of his death. "This just proves how much we don’t know about how to fight mental illness," Grant said. "It’s not like other medical problems where you can get an MRI and find out what is wrong." According to the Medical Examiner’s Office, Wallace had been suffering from depression in recent years and was taking medications commonly used for mood disorders. His family will hold a memorial service at 1 p.m. Monday at St. Timothy Catholic Church in Lutz. "He was a true family man who loved and cared deeply for his community," said daughter Amber Loper, 32, reading a family statement Wednesday. "He worked hard to give all he could back to others, which led him to start his environmental business, run for state office and volunteer for many organizations. He will be deeply missed." In addition to his daughter, Wallace is survived by his sons, Robert, Scott, and Connor Wallace, and his wife, Ann. He had three grandchildren. any more info is welcome. |
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08.21.14: woman wrecks her jeep, jumps off indian rocks beach bridge
(14), and dies. Robin Smith, 49 |
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08.21.14, pcsoweb.com, 14-215 Deputies Investigate A Single Vehicle Crash On The Indian Rocks Bridge Who: Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office - Patrol Operations Bureau, Clearwater Fire Rescue Robin Smith (Deceased), DOB: 6/08/1965, Address: [withheld] East Gulf Boulevard, Indian Rocks Beach Vehicle: 1989 Jeep Wrangler What: Deputies are investigating a crash in Indian Rocks Beach. Where: The crash took place in the east bound lanes of the Indian Rocks Beach Bridge. When: The crash occurred on Thursday August 21, 2014 at approximately 4:50 a.m. How/Why: Deputies responded to a single vehicle crash on the Indian Rocks Bridge, at approximately 4:50 a.m. this morning. The Jeep, driven by Robin Smith, was heading east bound over the bridge. The vehicle struck the concrete guardrail on the bridge and overturned coming to rest on the driver side on the drawbridge portion of the bridge. The investigation revealed an eye witness who saw the crash and observed Smith exit the wrecked vehicle. Smith then walked to the south side of the bridge, climbed over the railing and jumped into the water. Deputies and fire rescue units initiated a water rescue. A short time later, Smith was recovered unresponsive from the water by Clearwater Fire Department. Smith was transported to a nearby dock and pronounced deceased. The cause of the crash is unknown. The investigation continues. |
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08.21.14,
abcactionnews.com, INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. - The body of a woman was pulled from the Intracoastal Waterway after her car crashed on the Indian Rocks Beach Causeway bridge Thursday morning. A Jeep, driven by 49-year-old Robin Smith, was eastbound on the bridge and struck a concrete guardrail. The Jeep overturned and came to rest on the driver's side on the drawbridge section. An eyewitness told police that Smith was seen getting out of the vehicle. She then walked to the south side of the bridge, climbed over the railing and jumped. She was found a short time later and taken to a dock where she was pronounced dead. A dog left behind was picked up by Animal Control. The investigation continues. |
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04.06.14: Pinellas deputies keep man from jumping off Bay Pines Bridge
(12) in
Seminole. unknown, 24 |
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04.07.14, tbo.com, BY JOSÉ PATIÑO GIRONA, In police work, calls can’t be planned, and a deputy has to adapt to every situation. So it was that three Pinellas County deputies found themselves on Sunday morning trying to talk a 24-year-old man off the Bay Pines Bridge in Seminole, where he was threatening to commit suicide. Deputy Troy Savetz, Cpl. James Brueckner and Sgt. Jeff Esterline teamed up to prevent the man from jumping. "When you can save somebody’s life, it’s a good feeling," Savetz said. "It’s the best feeling in the world. It makes it worth putting on this uniform every day." The three men were called to the Bay Pines Bridge just before 10 a.m. They found a man yelling that if they got close, he would jump. Brueckner and Esterline approached the man on his right side but stayed a good distance away, continually talking to the man to keep his attention. As they spoke to him, Savetz walked around the man, out of his line of sight. He then inconspicuously walked behind the man and tackled him. The three officers then safely restrained him on the bridge. "I knew what I was going to do," Savetz said. "I had it on my mind that would be the only way to get him down." Savetz, 36, has worked for the sheriff’s office for nearly two years. Before that, he worked as a police officer for eight years with the City of St. Louis Police Department. Brueckner, 54, has worked for the sheriff’s office since 1997, and Esterline, 52, has worked for the sheriff’s office since 1987. This was Savetz’s first time physically rescuing someone who was threatening to commit suicide, he said. In this case, the three officers knew they had to act quickly. By the time they got to the scene, it took them about two minutes to rescue the man, who was distraught over financial and relationship issues. He struggled after being pulled off the bridge and the deputies eventually used a stun gun to subdue him. The man was taken to the hospital in an ambulance but wasn’t injured, the sheriff’s office said. In the ambulance, he thanked the officers for saving his life, Savetz said. He said he spoke to the man in the patrol car and at the hospital about coping with difficult issues and gave him his phone number. Call anytime, he told the man. All three officers have taken Crisis Intervention Training, which teaches deputies how to recognize and deal with mental health issues, the sheriff’s office said. "You learn to adapt," Savetz said. "You learn to get the job done. Being a deputy sheriff, you have to think on your feet." any more info is welcome. |
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01.12.14:
woman saved from 9th street bridge (11) jump, arrested for child abuse. Erin Carnes, 27 |
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01.20.14,
bradenton.com, Bradenton officer saves a life and may one day sing about it BRADENTON -- The call came in at 3:45 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 12, just when Sgt. Anthony "Tony" Cerniglia, supervisor of patrol at the Bradenton Police Department, was about to do roll call. BPD dispatch was on the phone with a woman who apparently wanted to jump off the Ninth Street Bridge over the Manatee River. Cerniglia yelled out to Lt. Jeremy Giddens: "Jeremy, take the meeting. I'm going to the bridge." Cerniglia ran to his patrol car and raced north on Ninth Street to the bridge. He saw a white sport utility and a pickup truck that had been in an accident, with a woman standing on the side of the bridge. Cerniglia jumped out of his patrol car and yelled to the woman: "It can't be that bad. Come here and give me a hug!" That's what Erin Carnes did rather than throwing herself off the bridge. "I told her it would be OK," Cerniglia said Friday. "I said we would get some care for her." Whether it was Cerniglia himself, his husky voice or what he said -- or a combination of all three -- that made Carnes reach for his hand and fall into his arms is unknown. Moments after the rescue, two other Bradenton Police Department officers pulled up, including Officer Michael Waker, who knew Carnes, Cerniglia said. "Michael had a history with her and they started talking," Cerniglia said. "She was OK then." As he talked Carnes off the bridge, Cerniglia didn't know she had just left her 1-year-old child by a mailbox by a home in the 1600 block of 17th Street East in Palmetto, according to a Manatee County Sheriff's Office report. Carnes was then involved in an accident on the bridge before Cerniglia found her. Carnes was later taken to the Manatee County jail on a charge of child abuse Cerniglia's colleagues at the Bradenton Police Department were not surprised the 15-year veteran knew exactly what to say to Carnes. "Sgt. Cerniglia's experience and compassion was displayed when he saved this person from drowning or injury," said Deputy Chief Warren Merriman. Cerniglia, 42, who grew up in West Milford, N.J., and has five sisters and a brother, said he was thrilled the story had a positive outcome. "It always feels good to save a life," Cerniglia said. So, how did he know what to say? "It's just years of experience," said Cerniglia, the first police officer in the family. "I'm nice to people. Usually, if you are nice to people, you get a nice response. I always try to explain that to the guys. You get more bees with honey." Cerniglia's unusual voice sounds like a cross between Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. He is said to have the soul of a country music singer, something he would like to try sometime onstage. He often gets teased about it, he said. "I always get kidded about it at work, mocked a bit. I would say Lt. Kevin Bunch does the best imitation of me," Cerniglia said with a laugh, speaking of a colleague and close buddy. Cerniglia recently discovered his voice, which sounds like parts smoke and whiskey, is actually caused by a paralyzed vocal chord. "I've probably had it since I was a child and never knew it," he said. His vocal abnormality was never an issue until he became light-headed when reading bedtime stories to his daughters, Madeline, 6, and Abigail, 5. "When I put my daughters to bed I read out loud," said Cerniglia who met his wife, Tammy, at Manatee Memorial Hospital where she is a nurse practitioner. "The reason I was light-headed is that my paralyzed vocal chord doesn't seal and air gets out, The seal is what keeps air in your system." Cerniglia is getting surgery on the vocal chord in February. Doctors say his voice will change immediately. "It's an outpatient procedure," Cerniglia said. "They keep you awake while they are working on the vocal chords so they can adjust it to get a good pitch." Oddly, the paralyzed vocal chord never impeded him while working out. "I can still run fast," Cerniglia said. "I run 20 to 30 miles a week and do cross-fit training. I recently ran a 'Tough Mudder' in two hours and 45 minutes." "The vocal chord doesn't bother me unless I talk a lot or read a book out loud to the kids," Cerniglia added. "I want to finish a book for my kids. That's why I'm getting the surgery." Cerniglia keeps his cool during all the kidding about his voice. He said he thinks he may be able to sing country music after the surgery and make some money at it when he retires from the force. Cerniglia, however, said his name would not be easy for country music fans to remember so he plans to adopt a stage name. "I've decided to call myself Kevin Bunch," Cerniglia said. any more info is welcome. |
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 prior arrests |
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11.13.13: jumper off the 40th street bridge (10) in tampa. unknown |
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11.13.13, tbo.com, Police divers search for possible jumper near 40th St. Bridge, Tribune staff Tampa police dive team is searching for a person who reportedly jumped off the 40th Street bridge. Investigators are on scene. No one has been located. A description of the person who police are searching for hasn’t been released. Stay with TBO.com for updates.  any more info is welcome. |
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10.24.13:
Selmon Expressway
bridge (7) deck suicide,
female unknown |
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10.24.13,
tbo.com, Woman jumps to death off Selmon Expressway, The eastbound lower deck of the Selmon Expressway was closed earlier this morning after a woman committed suicide. Tampa police say a woman jumped from the upper deck to the lower eastbound level just before the 50th Street exit, and was later pronounced dead. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the incident occurred this morning just before 6 a.m. The westbound upper deck is now open, and the eastbound level could be reopened soon, according to Tampa police. 10.24.13, abcactionnews.com, Woman dies after jumping off expressway, TAMPA - Tampa police say a woman has died after jumping from the upper deck of the Selmon Expressway Thursday morning. Much of the expressway near 50th Street was shut down. The victim has not been identified. At first, authorities thought the incident was a hit-and-run, but further investigation proved otherwise. The crash occurred shortly after 5:30 a.m. The eastbound lanes of the lower deck were shut down. No other details were immediately available. any more info is welcome. |
| 05.08.43: woman apparently jumps from the john's pass bridge (17) • full article |
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