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Woman dies after jumping off bridge

WATERVILLE — The woman who jumped off the Ticonic Bridge Friday afternoon later died at a Bangor hospital, police said today.

The unidentified woman was seen jumping into the Kennebec River about 4:30 p.m. and rescue crews pulled her from the river about 20 minutes later at the boat launch on Water Street.

She was taken by ambulance to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, where she was later pronounced dead, according to Waterville police Sgt. Joseph Shepherd. Police were notified the woman had died this morning, Shepherd said.

A spokeswoman at the State Medical Examiner’s said today that no information was immediately available about the case.

The eyewitness who called police, Shawn Webber, described the woman as having shoulder-length blond hair and wearing a blue fleece jacket. The woman appeared to be her 30s, he said.

Webber said he was riding his bicycle on Bridge Street when he passed the woman, who told him she was going to kill herself. Webber called police as the woman walked toward the bridge, which connects motorists between Waterville and Winslow.

Webber said he saw the woman start to climb over the rail as Officer Timothy Hinton pulled over to the side of the road beside her. She then jumped.

Following her death, the woman’s family was notified by authorities, Shepherd said.

While some people have threatened to jump from the Ticonic Bridge in the past, Friday’s case is the first Shepherd could recall in which a person has actually jumped.

 

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WATERVILLE -- A woman who police said jumped off the Ticonic Bridge late Friday afternoon was alive and en route to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor that evening.
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Emergency rescuers wait on the Fort Halifax bank of the Kennebec River in Winslow during the search for a woman who police say jumped off the Ticonic Bridge connecting Winslow and Waterville on Friday evening.

Staff photo by Michael G. Seamans
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Winslow rescue crews pulled her from the Kennebec River around 4:50 p.m., about 20 minutes after she jumped off the bridge, said Waterville Deputy Chief Charles Rumsey.

An ambulance took her from the boat launch at the end of Water Street to Inland Hospital in Waterville, he said.

Police were still trying to identify the woman about 7 p.m. when she was taken to the Bangor hospital in an ambulance, according to Waterville police Sgt. Alan Main.

Police received a call around 4:30 p.m. reporting that a woman was going to jump off the bridge.

The caller, Shawn Webber, said he was riding his bicycle on Bridge Street when he passed the woman, who told him she was going to kill herself.

Webber said he kept riding his bike toward the library, but decided to turn around and go talk to her.

"I'm tired of this life. I've had enough," Webber said she told him.

He said the woman had shoulder-length blond hair and was wearing a blue fleece jacket. He thought she was probably in her 30s.

Webber said she didn't look sad, but determined.

"She was going to do it and nobody was going to stop her," he said.

As she walked toward the bridge, he called the police. Watching from the Waterville end of the bridge, he saw her start to climb over the rail, when Officer Timothy Hinton pulled over to the side of the road right beside her.

"She didn't hesitate. She just jumped," Webber said.

Rumsey said he didn't know what the water temperature was at the time. The air temperature was hovering around freezing, according to a National Weather Service report from Waterville's airport.

Webber, who said he has worked with mentally ill people, was unsettled by the incident.