Woman in critical condition after jumping from Ship Canal Bridge
The 28-year-old woman, whose identity wasn't available, was in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
She jumped shortly after 10 a.m. after halting traffic in several directions for several hours.
The traffic jam was so bad that vehicles were backed up from the bridge north to Shoreline, from I-5 east on State Route 520 to Kirkland and for several miles south to Boeing Field.
The woman jumped from a railing adjacent to the southbound lanes, but police were forced to shut down the northbound lanes because passing motorists were shouting encouragement for her to jump, police said.
Duane Fish, Seattle police spokesman, said while police negotiators were trying to develop a rapport with the woman, motorists heading north were shouting such things as, "jump," "get it over with," "just do it."
"Our crises people were out there trying to save a life. It made it extremely difficult for them," Fish said.
The northbound traffic also had to be halted because of the many near collisions by drivers looking at the woman, whose legs were dangling over the rail, police said.
When the woman jumped, she dropped 160 feet and hit the water on her backside, according to police diver Jackson Lone, who was the first person to reach the woman. She likely hit bottom in water that is 13-15 feet deep, he said.
When she surfaced, she was flailing and paddling weakly. Lone reached over the side of the boat he was in and grabbed her, but he fell in while doing so, he said. He brought her to another boat, which brought her to shore and waiting paramedics.
Lone and his colleagues said they were waiting below for more than three hours.
"We were amazed that she jumped," after all that time, said Lt. Richard Schweitzer. It's unusual for an individual to spend that much time talking to negotiators before leaping.
Usually, if they're going to do it, they do it right away, said Officer Pruitt, who was driving one of the boats.
The woman had been threatening to jump since about 6:15 a.m., and divers were in the water in case she did.
Traffic resumed in both directions on the freeway at about 10:20 a.m.
During the closure, the freeway was backed up from the bridge all the way to Shoreline and forced many commuters onto surface streets. Those street became clogged and made for a nasty commute in much of the area north of the bridge.
All traffic headed south on the regular lanes was shut down at 6:23 a.m. The southbound express lanes remained open, but traffic was moving slowly there, according to the State Patrol.
At 8 a.m., the northbound lanes also were shut down by Seattle police, but two of those lanes were subsequently reopened.
Seattle police officers and state troopers diverted southbound traffic at Northeast 50th Street.
Dave Birkland can be reached at 206-464-2204 or at dbirkland@seattletimes.com.