As GWB suicides approach record, an effort to stop jumpers

photo illustration from Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District

The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco shown in a rendering with rigging that will act as a safety net. Construction of the netting was approved last month and will take three years.

Of the dead, we know so little.

Their names, usually. The clothes they wore. That they lost hope, and where.

Richard Elliot Stone was one of the latest; he jumped off the George Washington Bridge on July 20, just before sunset. We know he wore jeans and a black T-shirt. He was 30 years old.

The police refuse to give any more information, preferring not to encourage more jumpers. Already, the number of people leaping to their deaths from the George Washington Bridge is increasing, owing, perhaps, in part to a number of high-profile suicides from the span in recent years.

The death toll by the third week of July had reached 13, on pace to set a new annual record.

Now, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which has taken steps over the years to identify and stop potential jumpers, is taking its most aggressive step yet: construction of a 9-foot fence that officials believe will make jumping from the bridge exceedingly difficult. The move parallels other steps taken by managers of spans across the nation, including the Golden Gate Bridge, where a giant net will be put up to catch those who jump.

At the GWB, the death toll has risen so quickly that even local advocates for suicide prevention have been caught by surprise.

For years, the average was about six people per year who jump from the bridge, said Dale Carnhi, director of the American Foundation for Suicide Preventions metro New York region. But 13 this year? Wow. I didnt know that.

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As GWB suicides approach record, an effort to stop jumpers