SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - A San Francisco man who jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge on March 9 and was pulled out of the water alive beat tough odds.

The man is believed to be the 28th person to live out of approximately 1,300 attempts during the iconic span’s 70-year history — a survival rate of roughly 2 percent — according to Paul Muller of the Bridge Rail Foundation, a group advocating for a suicide barrier on the bridge.

The man, who has not been identified by authorities, plunged off the east railing before alerted rescue authorities could stop him from jumping, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Bunger.

U.S. Coast Guard officials rescued the unconscious man, who was transferred to the John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek.

The man is in his mid-40s and from The City, Bunger said.

Citing confidentiality, officials would not provide an update on the medical status of the jumper.

Neither the Marin County Coroner’s Office, which handles the vast majority of bridge deaths, nor the Contra Costa County coroner has a record of a person dying this month from a Golden Gate Bridge jump, officials with the agencies said.

Marin County Coroner Ken Holmes listed a litany of injuries that occur upon impact, including lacerated aortas, spleens, livers and kidney; broken hips, splintered ribs, shattered vertebra and water-filled lungs.

A 1967 study of 169 Golden Gate Bridge suicides found only 5 percent died from drowning and not as a result of impact trauma, according to a 1975 report published in The Western Journal of Medicine.

Someone falling from the 220-foot-high bridge hits the water at about 75 mph, according to that report.

Any survivors of the high-speed impact are exposed to violent ocean conditions — a result of volatile winds from the north and south that create large waves and swells of activity — said Lauren Kolumnik of the Coast Guard.

San Francisco resident Kevin Hines is one of the few who have lived to talk about the harrowing descent. Hines, who said he suffers from bipolar disorder, leapt from the bridge in 2000 when he was 19 years old.

Two of his vertebra shattered upon impact, lacerating his lower organs, including his intestines and stomach. He was in hospitals and a psychiatric ward rehabbing from his injuries for eight weeks, and it was nearly two years before his back was pain-free — although he still gets intense flare-ups aboard planes.

“People have this illusion, myself included, that you’re just going to splash peacefully into the water,” said Hines, who now travels the country as a motivational speaker. “My doctors told me it was more like hitting a brick wall.”

wreisman@examiner.com

Comments from Examiner Readers

9:57 AM MST on Thu., May. 8, 2008 re: "Fog surrounding toll increases may start to lift"

Examiner Reader said:
The state should take ownership of this bridge, the GGB board is trying to fill their pockets for years.

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1:12 PM MST on Fri., Apr. 11, 2008 re: "Peak hours cost peak prices"

Examiner Reader said:
The usual anti-tax, anti-fees lobby will whine and cry about increased tolls for Doyle Drive. That is until, of course, there's a major seismic event which cripples beyond use or collapses Doyle Drive. Then, of course, they will blame the government for doing nothing beforehand. We can't have it both ways.

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12:31 PM MST on Fri., Apr. 11, 2008 re: "Commuters await price for congestion toll"

Examiner Reader said:
Hmmm New York was smart enough to say no to the congestion tolls for Manhattan.

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4:29 AM MST on Fri., Apr. 11, 2008 re: "Commuters await price for congestion toll"

Examiner Reader said:
"If congestion-based tolling is necessary to secure the grant money, what about LOWERING non-peak-hour tolls by, say, 25 cents? Result: congestion-based tolling without further discouraging those of us who already think twice before taking our discretionary income across the bridge, either direction."

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6:37 PM MST on Mon., Mar. 17, 2008 re: "Peak hours cost peak prices"

Examiner Reader said:
If congestion-based tolling is necessary to secure the grant money, what about LOWERING non-peak-hour tolls by, say, 25 cents? Result: congestion-based tolling without further discouraging those of us who already think twice before taking our discretionary income across the bridge, either direction.

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9:09 AM MST on Mon., Mar. 17, 2008 re: "Peak hours cost peak prices"

Gladwyn d'Souza said:
This traffic does more than just go down Doyle Drive. In San Mateo County cities like SSF double in population during the day while Redwood Shores sees a factor of twenty increase. And we lose bicycle access, on Ralston over 101, because traffic coming to Oracle and EA caused the interchange to be reconfigured, to allow more on ramps ramps from Oracle, so much so that the interchange has become the number one location for bicycle car collisions in Belmont. So what does Supervisor McGoldrick mean by regional cooperation? This is an example of how Caltrans uses regional ignorance to keep CMAs like SFTA and CCAG in their car trance.

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11:14 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 14, 2008 re: "Congestion fare zooming ahead"

Examiner Reader said:
When Doyle Drive is paid off, can we reverse the toll back to 0? I don't think so. Liberal taxes are driving people away. I already bought a home in Nevada. Maybe its time to get out of this hellhole. The next earthquake is coming anyway and everyone is going to die... JK

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3:07 AM MST on Fri., Feb. 29, 2008 re: "Golden Gate Bridge closer to a real median"

Grant Gilligan said:
I was hit head on on the bridge. I was not even in far left lane. The woman next to me died and had no air bags. My friend and I survived the 100+ mile an hour impact. I drive across the bridge 5 times a week. I welcome the barrier!

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12:56 PM MST on Sat., Feb. 9, 2008 re: "Golden Gate Bridge closer to a real median"

Examiner Reader said:
So, will this barrier extend along Doyle Drive as well? The yellow tubes are hazardous (in addition to preventing the crossover problem) - they are frequently knocked loose and thrown about (very comforting on a motorcycle; there's already plenty of junk on CA highways).

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4:33 PM MST on Fri., Feb. 8, 2008 re: "Golden Gate Bridge closer to a real median"

Examiner Reader said:
I rather enjoy risking a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge as is. I believe such beauty is cleary worth taking my chances. Sometimes I even hazard a quick glance to one side or the other, to catch a glimpse of either the amazing Pacific Ocean or San Francisco's unique cityscape. I've been doing it for 31 years now without a scratch on me or my car.

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11:18 AM MST on Fri., Feb. 8, 2008 re: "Golden Gate Bridge closer to a real median"

Walter E.Wallis said:
Using new high strength steel, towers could be strengthened at the same time the roadway was widened, allowing 3 lanes each way and a premanent divider. Move the walkways either up or down and gain an emergency lane.

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10:57 AM MST on Fri., Feb. 8, 2008 re: "Golden Gate Bridge closer to a real median"

Ian H said:
.64 fatalities per million miles traveled didn't sound so bad ... until I looked up the national average, which is 0.0098 fatalities per million miles traveled. In other words, drivers are 65 times more likely to be killed driving across the Golden Gate Bridge than the average US roadway. The Examiner should make a little extra effort to put its statistics into context. I'm in favor of the barrier now.

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