A woman survived an apparent suicide attempt off the Flagler Beach bridge early this afternoon as passersby immediately alerted authorities, and paramedics dove into the Intracoastal to rescue her.
The woman was flown to Halifax hospital in Daytona Beach.
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The incident was reported to authorities at 1:02 p.m. “Witnesses came into the police department saying hey, a lady just jumped off the bridge toward the south portion, near Moody Boat ramp,” Flagler Beach Police Chief Matt Doughney said.
Flagler Beach police, sheriff’s deputies and firefighter-paramedics from three agencies–Flagler Beach, Palm Coast and Flagler County Fire Rescue–converged on various points of the bridge below, briefly uncertain from where exactly the woman had jumped. But she was located in the Intracoastal.
“A couple of firefighters went into the Intracoastal, she was awake, alert, they wanted to safely get her out of the water on a stretcher,” Doughney said.
Firefighters worked on life-saving measures after bringing her to shore and placing her on a stretcher, then transported her by ground a few blocks north to the helicopter emergency landing zone at Santa Maria del mar Catholic Church, from where Flagler County FireFlight took off at 1:43 p.m.–a 41 minute turnaround from the moment the incident was reported.
“Great response from the public: see something say something,” Doughney said. “Hopefully that alertness by the witnesses and the first responders will help keep this lady alive.” The police chief saw the woman after she was pulled from the water, but he said he could not guess her age. “She was in distress and a lot of pain,” he said.
Her identity has not been released, if it has even been determined. She had not driven to the portion of the bridge from where she jumped. a disabled vehicle was on the bridge at the same time as the incident unfolded, but there was no connection between the two. The bridge was closed in both directions but only briefly, Doughney said, as responders were determining from where the woman had jumped.
The condition of the woman is not known at the moment.
The bridge has been the scene of two suicides and two additional suicide attempts in the last 10 years, not including today’s incident. A 22-year-old man leaped to his death in 2015, falling on the paved portion of the parking lot around the boat ramp. In 2017, a woman who had jumped late during the night was not found until the next day in the water below. A man who jumped into the water in 2014 survived, as had a man who’d jumped 13 months earlier.
Flagler Beach police is investigating today’s attempt.
Laurel says
Hopefully, with all the people involved in her rescue, she will see her life as truly valuable.
Derrick redder says
So the solution is to build another albatross of a blinding t.p . Cage atop the bridge to prevent such desperation.
Momma Mia says
Sorry, but I agree with the cage. It will deter others from jumping.
TR says
So will what I said prior. Besides it would look a lot better than the ugly thing over the walk way bridge over RT100 that they built which is what I think Derrick is talking about.
TR says
No, I doubt they will go to that extreme. But they may put the fencing up with a curved top like on the Palm Coast Parkway overpass of I95. They have the same on the overpass on Matanzas Woods Pkwy in Palm Coast that also goes over I95. I didn’t read anything in the article that your suggestion was even an option.
Joe D says
Unfortunately no amount of caging will likely stop someone who is TRULY trying to kill themselves. They’ll simply find somewhere else to jump… potentially a tall building or even the Pier when it’s rebuilt. Cameras might alert rescue and emergency services, and a larger (taller) railing might be warranted.
The real sadness of this situation is that this woman had reached a point in her life where the personal pain of living was too much to bear, and DEATH seemed preferable. As a child and family therapist for 10+ years, life circumstances can overwhelm a person, and to outsiders there may seem to be workable solutions, but to the affected individual, they usually feel defeated and ALONE. Counseling and medication can help change that hopeless feeling but only if:
1-someone recognizes the person is in acute distress
2-the person or family member lets a community safety or mental health resource know there is a SERIOUS threat of self harm. And finally:
3- there are available and affordable counseling and mental health resources in the community.
Covid destroyed many families’ sense of security. Even now we are only beginning to truly recover physically, mentally and FINANCIALLY from a several year disaster! For many, they have NO HOPE that they will EVER feel better.
Local resources are limited at best, and access appears even harder for many of the individuals who need it most ( isolated young people, substance abusers, victims of physical, sexual or emotional abuse, elderly separated from extended family, and people who are dealing with chronic mental illnesses). Flagler County must do better, or we are going to see suicidal behavior such as today, repeated again and again.
Celia M Pugliese says
Mental Health services and substance abuse rehab is needed in Flagler County and its cities. I bet there are out there Federal Fund Grants maybe even state and/or Non Profits funds as well available that can be found by our grant researchers employees like Ms. Maeven Rogers of the city of Palm Coast new created office: https://www.palmcoast.gov/Newsroom/Home/Details/city-of-palm-coast-welcomes-first-chief-sustainability-and-resiliency-officer. The well being of our citizens in crisis helping them with the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties should be eyed by our city Department of Sustainability and Resilience. Sadly we had a young Palm Coast resident over 20 years ago that used to sing Christmas Carols on the Holidays with our non profit group and jumped to his death from the I-95 overpass over lack of depression treatment. He was a sweet young man an asset to our community and guilty sat in for us all for not realizing in time his needs. “There’s an 11-year gap from the identification of behavioral health to the first day of treatment,” https://flaglerlive.com/flagler-access-center/#google_vignette .If we go back to the many fatal suicide cases as this editorial describes and the several additional cases still missed, will find out that tragedy could be averted. Some of the cases as I recall started with financial difficulties, as as we know this county and its cities still do not provide with enough fair paid and benefits job opportunities for younger individuals. Just my opinion of 33 years experience residing in Palm Coast.
jeffery c. seib says
The unbearable sadness, desperation, and despair that certain among us experience at an ever-increasing rate every moment of the day can finally be too much for some of us and we only want to end the pain and end it all. Loneliness, confusion, and giving up all hope combined with a tragic event like a death of a loved one put some people over the edge. The signs are there but often are missed by others. If we can break through the barrier of isolation and speak and listen and help us all then we will all be at a better place right here. Remember what they say: take care of yourself, and someone else.
dave says
Hopefully this person will get the help they really need.