Man survives plunge from Golden Gate

SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - An unidentified man who jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge in a suicide attempt on Sunday is in serious but stable condition at John Muir Medical Center, according to officials from the California Highway Patrol.

The man jumped off the east railing of the expanse approximately 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, before alerted rescue authorities could prevent him from plunging, CHP spokesman Mark Bunger said.

Coast Guard officials rescued the unconscious man from the water and delivered him to Park Presidio fire paramedics, who then transferred the man to the John Muir center in Walnut Creek, Bunger said.

Last summer, Marin County Coroner Ken Holmes released findings from a 10-year study on suicide trends from the Golden Gate Bridge. In his report, Holmes found that 206 people plunged to their deaths from 1997 to 2007, including 59 San Francisco residents, a group that formed the largest percentage — 29.6 — of the jumpers.

The man who attempted suicide on Sunday is in his mid-40s and believed to be from San Francisco, Bunger said.

The Golden Gate Bridge District does not keep an official tally of suicides or suicide attempts from the bridge, spokeswoman Mary Currie said.

Bridge officials began formally investigating possibilities of a suicide barrier in April 2005, and a final design for the project is expected to be released in late 2008, according to the Golden Gate Bridge Web site.

wreisman@examiner.com

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