Posted on 06/25/2009 12:40:35 PM PDT by South40
SAN DIEGO — An apparently suicidal woman led officers on a wild, high-speed chase Thursday morning that ended when she jumped off the San Diego-Coronado Bridge and survived.
The woman stopped on the westbound lanes in the middle of the bridge just after 10 a.m. and got out of her car, the California Highway Patrol said. Witnesses said she put her hands and feet on the railing and appeared distraught, the CHP said.
She stood there about five minutes, then got back into her car and drove into Coronado, where officers began following her after receiving 911 calls. She drove around for a few minutes and then turned and headed back over the bridge at speeds estimated at about 75 mph, the CHP said.
She continued north on Interstate 5, where she was clocked at 90 mph as she approached Sassafras Street, the CHP said.
At one point she tried to get off the freeway but changed her mind and continued heading north until she exited at Sea World Drive, ran a red light and then got back on the freeway heading south.
She got off at Washington Street, headed south on Kettner Boulevard, ran a truck off the road, then got back on the highway again and continued until she reached the bridge – still driving at speeds of 90 mph, the CHP said.
The woman then stopped her car and immediately ran to the rail and jumped off.
Rescuers pulled her from the water about 10.25 a.m. “She was communicating with them,” said Coronado police Sgt. Dan Schicker.
One westbound lane of the bridge was briefly closed as officers investigated the incident and removed the woman's car.
Her medical condition has not been released.
Yeah. I've seen it in person too.
Some days it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed.
To give you an idea of scale, there’s plenty of room for an aircraft carrier to pass under it.
When I was in Coronado, the ferry boat was still in service...but that was many gray hairs ago.
Me too Dave...seems like it was 25-cents for pedestrians and a buch for a car?? In the afternoon, the Phib base used to run a Mike boat across the bay. Great place!!
buch = buck Grrrrr
Thought that you might be interested in this article.
CC
I was in SD from 63-67, sailing in and out of port bound for WESTPAC or Home.
I remember pedestrians paid 10 cents to ride the ferry and at the time, according to an article in the SD Union, someone was dropping slugs into the coinbox to save themselves a dime.
We used to take our diving boat out off Point Loma from the Naval Station to keep our diving qualifications up to date (actually, we went abalone fishing, but the fishin' trips served two purposes). :)
It was indeed a great place!
You were there about the same time I was...and I thought the fare was 10-cents as I got to thinking about it I decided it must not have been that low.
We used to take the ferry then walk to the stadium and watch the Chargers play...seems like in uniform we got in for a couple of bucks.
I shipped out for Swift Boat duty in Nam in 1965.
Cheers
Right, and some days it just doesn’t pay to jump off a bridge either. ‘0)
If you’re gonna jump off a bridge with the intent of offing yourself, make sure:
A. It is a long way down.
B. The target surface is “solid”.
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