.
.
| jumper #11: 12.29.99, around 10:25am, female, no hotline phones,
hit water, dies |
winner: mike l., seminole, fl.
guessed: 5pm, male, no hotline phones, hit water, dies
his response to winning: Hey, i won... I suggest
DOT place video camera on rocks below for a closer look!!!! Then u could
add another few colums.. ie were they smiling, eyes open or closed..
shoes on or off... was the dive a 1 or a 10. |
| Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office:
On December 29, 1999, Marsha Ihde, 49, Parrish, Fl.,
drove her 1992 Chevrolet van northbound on the Skyway Bridge. She
stopped the vehicle, approximately 100 yards south of the center span.
Witnesses reported to the Sheriff’s Office, she then climbed up on the
railing and sat down. Before witnesses could reach her, she either jumped
or fell off the bridge. Ms. Ihde’s body was recovered by the St.
Petersburg Police Marine Unit boat approximately 25 minutes later. This
is the eleventh death in 1999, associated with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. |
.
| jumper #10: 12.09.99, around 9:35pm, male, no hotline phones, hit
water, dies |
winner: Bob B., Sarasota, fl.
guessed: 12.08, 2am., male, no hotline phones, hit water, dies
|
| J. O., St. Pete, FL., dec. 09, 10pm - don't know the details, may be false alarm - I view
the Skyway from my balcony and currently there are 5-8 police cruisers
at the top of the northbound side of the bridge. Boats / choppers are also
circling the bridge area...2nd time in 1 month? Of course, nothing indicated
on any local news broadcasts?
|
| Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office:
On December 9, 1999, Mr. Kenneth Shroyer was driving
his 1986 Chevrolet northbound on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, when he stopped
the vehicle, started arguing with his acquaintance, who was traveling with
him and then jumped over the railing of the bridge into the bay. His body
was recovered by the U.S. Coast Guard. Mr. Shroyer’s death is the tenth
suicide of 1999, occurring from the Sunshine Skyway Bridge
|
.
| jumper #9: 10.07.99, around 1:00pm, male, no hotline phones,
dies |
| winner: none |
St.
Petersburg Times© Skyway jumper was Treasure Island man; St. Petersburg; Oct 9, 1999;
Sheriff's deputies have identified a man who jumped to his death from the Sunshine Skyway bridge on Thursday afternoon as Finley B. Myers. Myers, 82, of
Treasure Island, was seen jumping from the bridge about 1 p.m. His body was recovered by the Coast Guard.
|
.
| jumper #8: 09.11.99, around 3-4pm, female, no hotline phones, hit
water, dies |
winner: Chris T., oldsmar, fl.
guessed: 09.10, 6am., male, no hotline phones, hit water, dies
comments: if we called it Muff Bay instead of
Tampa Bay, would that make them Muff divers. (would
they then be "going down"? chris is another 2 time
jumperpool winner.) |
.
| jumper #7: 09.01.99, 4:30pm, male, no hotline phones, hit
water, lives |
| winner: none
|
Bradenton man survives jump off Skyway bridge; St.
Petersburg Times©, published Sep 2, 1999; MIKE BRASSFIELD;
A 40-year-old Bradenton man who jumped from the center span of the Sunshine Skyway in an apparent suicide attempt Wednesday survived the nearly 200-foot drop, authorities said.
Motorists on the Skyway told authorities that the man walked up the northbound side of the bridge and jumped from the top shortly before 4:30 p.m. A St. Petersburg Fire Rescue boat found him in the water just before 5 p.m., conscious and talking, said St. Petersburg fire Lt. Chris
Bengivengo. "It's about a 20-story drop," Bengivengo said.
The man, whose name is being withheld to protect his privacy, suffered severe injuries, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. He was rescued about a quarter-mile from the St. Petersburg shoreline and was taken to Bayfront Medical Center.
People who jump from the Skyway rarely live. Anyone who falls from a point close to the center of the bridge hits the water in about 3.5 seconds at about 75 mph. The impact usually breaks bones and ruptures organs. If they aren't killed, they typically are knocked unconscious and drown.
Only three other people are known to have survived the fall from the central span of the bridge, opened in 1987, according to the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office. A 40-year-old Tampa man survived in May. In 1996, a 52-year-old Sarasota woman and a 44-year-old St. Petersburg man each survived the drop.
The Skyway is the third-deadliest bridge in the country for suicides after the Golden Gate Bridge and San Diego's Coronado Bridge, according to the Crisis Center of Hillsborough County. Six people killed themselves on the Skyway in 1996, eight in 1997, 12 in 1998 and several this year.
In July, six phones were installed on the Skyway to provide a direct line to the Crisis Center for anyone considering suicide. |
.
| jumper #6: 08.03.99, 06:30am, male, hit water, dies |
winner: dave z., oldsmar, fl.
guessed: 08.03, 6am.
(dave is
the first two time jumperpool winner.) |
04.04.99, St.
Petersburg Times©, Man apparently jumps from Skyway, dies
A Tampa man died after apparently jumping from the Sunshine Skyway bridge Tuesday.
Hubert Carter Phillips, 42, of (address withheld), left his 1986 Chevette parked on the bridge early in the morning, said Debbie Carter, spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. A passer-by saw him standing next to the car and called authorities about 6:30 a.m. When deputies arrived, only the car was there, with Phillips' wallet on the front seat.
The Coast Guard recovered his body about 90 minutes later. |
| 04.24.07, elizabeth, Gadsden, Alabama, US, I was looking for statistical info regarding the bridge when I came across your website. I was horrified to find my uncle's name and that someone had profited from his death. While to you those who attempt/committ suicide are an opportunity to make mockery, to those they leave behind there are unexplicable wounds. Your
"jumperpool" is not twisted or evil. It is, however, something much worse than that and one that you will have to answer for. While it hurts and saddens me, my pain is nothing compared to the shame you will face when meeting your maker. Such perverse humor will never nor could it ever be pardoned. I ask that you remove all information involving Hubert Carter Phillips be from your site.
(no one profits from this web site. if there is a
'maker', your uncle had an unfortunate meeting with him as well.) |
.
| jumper #5: 07.20.99, between midnight and 2am, male, hit
rocks, dies |
winner: chris t., oldsmar, fl.
guessed: 07.19, 6am, male, hit water.
|
07.21.99, St.
Petersburg Times©, Bradenton man dies in jump from Skyway, Author: SARAH SCHWEITZER
A 66-year-old man jumped to his death off the Sunshine Skyway bridge Tuesday morning, less than a week after signs were posted alerting the public to emergency telephones on the bridge.
Hillsborough County sheriff's officials said David Maass, of
(address withheld) in Bradenton, parked his Chevrolet pickup truck on the center span, and his body was found on the rocks below shortly before 3 a.m.
Maass did not try to use the phones, according to Vicki Hawkins, the director of hotline services at the Hillsborough County Crisis Center, where specially trained counselors staff the phones 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
"Our sympathy goes out to the family. We wish that he had called and reached out for help, but we know that the service will be there for the ones who do want help," Hawkins said.
Maass is the second person to jump from the bridge since the installation of the phones. But he is the first to leap since blue signs saying "Crisis Center" were installed.
Family members said Maass, who was a retired power company worker, showed no obvious signs of unhappiness Monday. But in hindsight, they said, he seemed a bit too sentimental with his 14-year-old granddaughter.
"He told her that he was real proud of her and that she would go somewhere in life," said his daughter-in-law, Judy Hagin.
Maass had lived in Bradenton all his life, Hagin said. Both his children died in recent years, one from a heart condition and the other in a car accident.
"It had been a rough couple of years," Hagin said.
Hawkins said that since the phones became operational in late June, several motorists have used them to report car trouble on the bridge. But she said the center has received no calls from people contemplating suicide.
Since 1996, 27 people have died after jumping off the Skyway, making it the third-deadliest bridge in the country for suicides, according to officials. Only the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and Coronado Bridge in San Diego have had more suicides, the officials said. Neither of those bridges has emergency phones connected to a crisis center.
The six candy-red, solar powered phones are spread out on the bridge, with three on the southbound side and three on the northbound side. By the end of the month, Hawkins said, caller-ID should be available on the phones so that counselors can identify exactly where callers are phoning from the bridge. |
.
| jumper #4: 06.28.99, 06:45am, male, hit water, dies |
winner: dave z., oldsmar, fl.
guessed: 06.28, 6am, female, hit rocks.
|
.
| jumper #3: 05.15.99, 06:50pm, male, hit water, lives |
winner: dustin w., lehigh acres, fl.
guessed: 05.13, 9am, female, hit water.
|
05.17.99, St.
Petersburg Times©, Man survives fall from bridge; CHRISTINA HEADRICK
The Tampa man appeared to have no broken bones or life-threatening injuries at the scene after the 197-foot drop.
A 40-year-old Tampa man who jumped from the center span of the Sunshine Skyway in an apparent suicide attempt Saturday night somehow survived the 197-foot drop, deputies reported.
After being rescued by a passing boater, Lee R. Baggett of
(address withheld) was in stable condition Sunday in the intensive care unit at Bayfront Medical Center.
Remarkably, Baggett appeared to have no broken bones or life- threatening injuries at the scene, said Hillsborough County sheriff's Deputy Dan Hillery. "This is extremely unusual," Hillery said.
Anyone who jumps from a point close to the center of the bridge hits the water in about 3.5 seconds at about 75 mph. The impact usually breaks bones and ruptures organs.
Only two other people are known to have survived the fall from the central span of the bridge, according to Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office records. Both occurred in 1996, records state.
One was a 52-year-old Sarasota woman. The other was a 44-year-old St. Petersburg man.
The bridge is one of the country's most infamous. Six people killed themselves in 1996. Eight people died in 1997. At least 12 committed suicide in 1998. Two more have died so far this year.
Gov. Jeb Bush and other suicide prevention advocates have called for new safety barriers to be constructed to prohibit jumping.
Baggett left behind an audio-cassette explaining his intent to kill himself, Hillery said. He also left his driver's license in his car to help identify him.
Then he parked his car on the bridge and walked to the center span about 6:50 p.m., the Sheriff's Office report states. He went over the west side.
A boater and St. Petersburg resident, Chris Thrap, pulled him out of the water and brought him to shore, Hillery said. Neither Thrap nor Baggett's family returned messages for comment. |
.
| jumper #2: 04.14.99, 09:34am, male, hit water, dies |
winner: jim b., apollo beach
guessed: 04.14, 7am, male, hit water.
comments: this is the one... (apparently
so.) |
.
| jumper #1: 03.21.99, 7am, male, dies |
winner: mike j., pinellas park
guessed: 03.21, 4am, male.
(the dead
man was a 73 year old nursing home guy that apparently was depressed.) |
.
. |