05.31.01, ©
St. Petersburg Times, By TODD WRIGHT,
As they searched the waters beneath
the Sunshine Skyway bridge, rescuers were looking for a body. That's usually
what they find when someone jumps the nearly 200 feet from the crest of
the bridge. Suddenly, one of the divers noticed a naked man
sitting on rocks at the base of one of the huge pillars. He was obviously
in pain and was pleading for help. "I'm hurt bad," the man told rescuers
as they approached the rocks. The impact of the fall apparently ripped the
clothes off the 36-year-old white Pinellas County man. Rescuers estimated
he then swam 40 yards and climbed atop the rocks. "It's amazing that he
lived," said St. Petersburg Fire Department paramedic Jim Cunningham. "I
was expecting to find another dead body." The man, whose identity had not been confirmed
late Wednesday, was placed on a 25-foot U.S. Coast Guard boat and driven
to Maximo Park, where he was transferred to an ambulance and taken to Bayfront
Medical Center.
Cunningham said the man suffered multiple rib
fractures, substantial internal bleeding and a decompressed left lung.
"He was very alert when we got to him, but in an obvious amount of pain,"
Cunningham said.
The rescue began as the fire department's marine
dive team received the dispatch call at 5:06 p.m. Passers-by on the bridge
called 911 and reported that a man was standing on the rail at the top
of the center span. His pickup truck was parked a few feet away. Capt.
Don Masters said the man jumped from the top of the center span, about
a 200-foot drop to the water. Most don't survive. In recent years, as many as a dozen people a
year have jumped to their deaths. The number rose from six in 1996 to eight
in 1997, then to 12 in 1998 and 1999. The Skyway has the reputation of
being a magnet for suicides. It's the third-deadliest bridge in the country
for suicides, after San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and San Diego's
Coronado Bridge. But some who jump off the Skyway survive. Records show that five people have survived their
leaps since the bridge opened in 1987. The most recent was Katherine Freeman, 42, who
leaped from the bridge about a year ago after killing her ex-husband and
trying to kill his wife. Officials credited brisk winds with slowing her
descent. The fall broke her pelvis and legs. She is now in prison.
A Rottweiler named
Shasta survived the fall when
her owner jumped to his death in May 1998. It was never known whether the
dog followed her master or went involuntarily.
In recent years, state officials have focused
more on suicide prevention on the bridge. In 1999, six crisis phones were
installed on the bridge's center spans. The red phones connect callers
to a suicide hotline. Shortly after Gov. Jeb Bush took office, he prodded
the Department of Transportation to consider installing fences on the sides
of the Skyway or safety nets below it to cut down on suicides. The DOT
ruled out those options, saying fences would affect the bridge's aerodynamics
and could make it less safe in high winds, and safety nets might be ineffective
because people could crawl to the edge of the net and jump from there.
Instead, the DOT favored a different strategy: putting more FHP troopers
and security cameras on the Skyway. A trooper now patrols the bridge 24
hours a day. - Times staff writer Mike Brassfield contributed to this report.
06.01.01, ©Bradenton
Herald, A Palm Harbor man, who survived a 200-foot jump from the Sunshine
Skyway Bridge, remained hospitalized in critical condition Thursday, according
to Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Sterling King. Hannis F. Jones, 35, jumped
off the bridge Wednesday, suffering multiple rib fractures, internal bleeding
and injuries to his left lung, according to reports. The impact caused
Jones' clothes to rip off, according to reports. Despite his injuries,
Jones managed to swim about 40 yards to rocks. He pulled himself out of
the water. Authorities said Jones is the sixth person known to have survived
the 200-foot drop, according to the Associated Press.
06.01.01, ©
St. Petersburg Times, Jump survivor had struggled with depression; TODD WRIGHT;
Hanns F. Jones, who survived jumping off the Sunshine Skyway bridge on Wednesday, had been visibly depressed about problems with his girlfriend just a few days earlier, a friend said.
Jones, 35, was in intensive care Thursday at Bayfront Medical Center after suffering rib and lung injuries.
"He was real upset. All he talked about is how he was under a lot of stress because he was about to break up with his girlfriend," said Jose Llano, who Jones stayed with Monday night.
Llano, a Tampa resident, said the last time he saw Jones was around 1 p.m. Tuesday when he drove off in a 1972 Ford pickup.
Florida Highway Patrol officer Gerald Triplett reported that same pickup was found abandoned on the bridge a few feet from where Jones jumped. On the truck's dashboard, Triplett found Jones' wallet and a Father's Day card that had the words, "Love, Your Son," on the inside.
Jones dropped nearly 200 feet from the center of the bridge before crashing into the water and swimming 40 yards to some rocks attached to a support pillar.
Jones, an inventor, was in business with Viable Products L.C. in Tampa. In 1999, he received a patent from the U.S. Patent Office for an invention called the Sock Locker, designed to keep pairs of socks together while being washed. He sold the idea to Viable Products.
Jeffrey Gitto, a business associate of Jones, said he was unsuccessful in attempts to reach Jones over the past two months.
"Hanns was very conscious about what people thought of him or his ideas," said Gitto, who has known Jones for six years.
According to Llano, Jones had been staying with him off and on for the last six months and had recently gotten a job as a part-time bathroom valet at Mons Venus, a nude-dance club in Tampa.
Llano said girlfriend troubles often brought Jones to his home. "As far as I know, he had no where else to go," said Llano.
06.12.01, ©
St. Petersburg Times, By TODD WRIGHT, Leap from Skyway changes his
life:
"I was just happy to be alive," says a man who survived a 200-foot
suicide jump into the water. To Hanns Jones, his 200-foot freefall from
the Sunshine Skyway bridge on May 30 was a scene unfolding in slow motion.
At first, he felt like a bird in flight, relaxed and calm while admiring
the rays cutting through the clouds. Then, as the unforgiving blue water
drew nearer, Jones felt his muscles tense, bracing for a fatal impact.
"Right before impact I realized that this was a bad idea," said Jones,
35. Jones crashed feet-first into the water, the force ripping his clothes
from his body. He briefly lost consciousness, and he thought he was dead.
As he surged to the surface, the image of his 17-month-old son, Braner,
reawakened him. "I saw his eyes and I said, "There is no way I'm not going
to make it to those rocks,' " Jones said. With fractured ribs and a collapsed
left lung, Jones managed to swim to rocks some 40 yards away. "I was just
happy to be alive. All my problems washed away in my mind," he said. When
he reached the rocks, Jones could feel the intense pain from his injured
ribs. He could not raise his arms above his shoulders. He only hoped that
help would come. "I thought to myself, "I really did it this time,' " Jones
said. Help arrived minutes later from the St. Petersburg FireDepartment
and U.S. Coast Guard. Jones was rushed toBayfront Medical Center, where
he remains under 24 hour supervision. The fall also ruptured his spleen
and fractured a vertebra in his neck, which requires him to wear a halo
for the next two months. Jones said his brush with death has helped him
realize the preciousness of life and the importance of his role in the
lives of his four children. "I was ashamed of myself because I don't want
my kids to grow up without a father like I did," said Jones, who called
the St. Petersburg Times to tell his story. "I care a hell of alot now
if I live or not." Jones said it was a lack of knowledge about his father
that ultimately pushed him to consider killing himself. An inventor, Jones
has been looking for his father for years, but has found no information
about him. A last-ditch effort toget a picture of his father turned up
empty, pushing Jones into a depressed state. A Father's Day card that Jones
carries around for sentimental value was found in the 1972 Ford pickup
truck that he drove to the span of the bridge. Jones said matters only
got worse when he and his girlfriend broke up the night before. "Without
love, it's like someone pulled the plug on life," said Jones. "I didn't
care whether I lived or died." Jones says financial difficulties put a
further strain on the relationship with his girlfriend. All of his money
and time was devoted to working on his inventions, he said. "It was like
pulling teeth. As an inventor, you either make it or starve, and I was
starving," said Jones, who in 1999 received a patent for an invention called
the Sock Locker, designed to keep pairs of socks together while being washed.
He sold the idea to Viable Products L.C. in Tampa. Jones said the combination
of personal and professional difficulties took him to the top of the bridge
where, in recent years, as many as a dozen people a year have jumped to
their deaths. The number rose from six in 1996 to eight in1997, then to
12 in 1998 and 1999. The Skyway has the reputation of being a magnet for
suicides. It's the third-deadliest bridge in the country for suicides,
after San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and San Diego's Coronado Bridge.
Jones is among a rare few who survived. Records show that five people have
survived their leaps since the bridge opened in 1987. Given a second chance,
Jones says he will stop his search for his father and focus on being a
father himself. After being released from the hospital, Jones plans to
move in with his sister in Missouri, where he can try to piece things back
together. His passion, however, remains inventing. "I am what I am," said
Jones. "I wouldn't give up inventing for anything."
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