Woman Prevented From Jumping Off Bridge, Rescue Personnel Say

By TBO.COM | Tbo.com
Published: February 24, 2009

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St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue personnel said they prevented a woman from jumping off the Sunshine Skyway bridge Tuesday night.

Units responded to a report about 8:30 p.m. of a vehicle stopped at the bottom of a bridge, according to the report. Witnesses say a woman got out of the car and walked toward the top of the bridge.

Paramedics Deal Farrell and Dave Kirby found the woman straddling the retaining walk about two-thirds of the way up the bridge, according to the report.

"While they were distracting her from her jumping, the paramedics seized an opportunity to grab her arm and pull her to the safety," said Lt. Jake Nyhart. "Another few minutes and she was going over

The paramedics restrained the woman until the Florida Highway Patrol arrived to help.

The patrol took her into protective custody, and she was taken by ambulance to Suncoast Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, the report says.