Resource Tag: JUMPING

A dedicated suicide prevention radio phone call box was installed on the Mid-Hudson Bridge in Poughkeepsie, New York in August 1984. From its installation through December 1998, the phones were used 61 times. This brief report provides information on the reasons why people used the phone & the services provided to some of the callers.

The pulmonary complications of a 50-metre fall to the water (a form of suicide attempt producing 87% mortality) were studied in 15 survivors. Presents findings including crackles, haemoptysis, and hypotension, ventilatory failure, and pneumothorax. (28 refs)

This article discusses suicides which have occurred at the Bloor Street Viaduct in Toronto, Ontario. The Schizophrenia Society of Ontario began a campaign in 1997 to have a safety fence installed after 4 members of their society completed suicide at this location. In 1998, Toronto City Council voted unanimously to have a design competition for […]

This article provides a brief biography of Martin Kruze who had been sexually abused over a period of 7 years by two employees of Maple Leaf Gardens. One of the men who abused Kruze & numerous other victims was sentenced to only two years in prison. Kruze jumped to his death three days after sentence […]

This analysis examined the effects of bridge barriers on the number of suicides from bridges in Washington, DC. Barriers were installed on the Ellington bridge in 1986 & from 1987-1989, there were no suicides from this bridge. Results suggest that the total number of bridge suicides declined after the installation of barriers on the Ellington […]

103 inpatient suicides over a 21-year period in a psychiatric hospital in Melbourne were examined. 60 of these cases were compared with a matched group. Over 1/3 of the suicides occurred during approved leave & a similar number happened after absconding from the hospital. It is concluded that psychiatric units should be developed away from […]

This article reviews the questions raised by the suicide of a 17-year-old boy who attended St. Michael’s Choir School in Toronto, & his interrogation by an off-duty police officer a few hours before his death. Kenneth AuYeung was involved in a prank which hinted at sexual improprieties at the school; he & 5 other boys […]

Jumping accounts for 5% or less of suicides in Great Britain & the USA, & thus is comparatively unusual. This article presents the case of Robert Salter, a 22-year-old, first-year law student who attempted suicide by jumping off a high bridge. (23 refs.)

This paper examines 54 deaths resulting from falls from the Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal, Quebec. This bridge is believed to be the site with the greatest number of docummented suicides in the province of Quebec. The cases are identified directly by the Coroner’s office, or from police-reported suicides confirmed by the Coroner. The authors […]

This editorial speaks on other bridges which do not have the notoriety of a suicide site, as the Clifton Bridge in England. In a study by Seiden, 50% of the 115 suicides travelled over the Oakland Bay Bridge to reach the Golden Gate Bridge where they jumped. No cases of people travelling over the Golden […]

This paper describes the characteristics of those who died as a result of jumping from the Clifton Suspension Bridge in England between April 1974 & December 1993. 127 cases & 127 matched control suicides who used other methods were compared. Those who committed suicide by jumping were no more likely to have psychiatric histories than […]

High-fashion model Wallis Franken Montana committed suicide in May 1996. This article investigates Montana’s relationship with her husband, designer Claude Montana. Friends & family believe that the abuse Wallis Montana suffered at the hands of her husband played a role in her death.

May 22, 1996: Two adolescent girls with wrists tied together lept from the cliffs to the Pacific shoreline. Two months earlier, a male student (same school) & his girlfriend had died in the same manner. This article profiles the lives of the 2 girls, includes interviews with family members & crisis intervention workers, examines challenges […]

In Singapore from 1960 to 1976, the suicide rate by jumping from high-rise apartment buildings increased as their availability increased and appeared to create new suicides in addition to leading some people to switch methods for suicide. (2 refs.)

A survey was conducted of 47 suicides, 16 failed suicides, & 24 attempted suicides that occurred from Brisbane river bridges over 15 years. Compared to findings from other studies, bridge suicides & failed suicides had a much higher rate of schizophrenia with hallucinations often precipitating the jump. They also had extensive histories of self-harm. Those […]

This essay is Lopate’s account of the suicide of a co-worker, Jay Becker. He writes about his reaction to the suicide as well as the reactions of his colleagues & Becker’s students. Because no one else was telling the students the truth about Becker’s death, Lopate decided that he would talk to them. Using a […]

In this 1988 essay, Ozick examines the writer Primo Levi’s unusual suicide note – his last novel, “The Drowned and the Saved”. Levi’s previous works are notable for their detachment from the events he experienced in Auschwitz. Ozick argues that in his last novel Levi expresses the rage that he had suppressed for so long.

The issue of bridge suicides in Washington D.C. is discussed in regards to the installation of suicide fences. There were 3 main arguments used against the installation of the fences: 1. the fences blocked scenic views; 2. the architectural integrity of the bridges had to be maintained; and 3. fences do not prevent suicides. Comments […]

This presentation focuses on strategies by peace officers to intervene with persons attempting suicide by jumping from high places (defenestrators), including the Himmelsbach hype; step-back soliloquy; coffee-cola clatch; tape recorder trepan; cigarette swindle; thought interruption; & Fowler’s snare. A decrease in this method of suicide is noted along with increased efforts to train police in […]

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