Cop risks life for bridge jumper
A Tampa police deputy helped save the life of a woman who attempted suicide by jumping over the Howard Frankland Bridge Monday night, according to authorities.
The incident happened around 7:30 p.m. That’s when officers with the Tampa police department were dispatched to the Tampa side of the bridge where a caller said a woman had jumped.
Once at the scene they observed a woman hanging onto a piling in the water. She had been in the water, which was between 55 and 65 degrees for about 15 minutes, according to reports.
After trying unsuccessfully to secure the woman with a life preserver, Officer Ryan Jurjevich jumped into the water with a life preserver. After reaching the female, he grabbed a rope that had been lowered by officers on the scene. The officers then pulled Jurjevich and the female one half-mile before a Tampa Fire rescue boat arrived.
Both Jurjevich and the woman were transported to Memorial Hospital with signs of hypothermia. Jurjevich was later released from the hospital. The woman who attempted suicide was Baker Acted, by a Florida State Trooper who was on the scene.
– Nicole Hutcheson, Times staff writer