Survived jumping off San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge

Kevin Hines was in a state of deep despair and despair when he heard a voice in his head telling him to “jump off” from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

On September 25, 2000, the then-19-year-old walked on the sidewalk for nearly 40 minutes before jumping over a four-foot fence and heading into the frigid ocean at 130 miles per hour up a 25-storey skyscraper. suddenly descended. The fall lasted only four seconds.

“In the milliseconds my hand was off the rail, I immediately regretted it,” Hines told DailyMail.com.

While in the air, Hines managed to position himself in a position to hit the water on his feet.

“I kept thinking, this is not real, I’m not in this water, I’m not jumping off this bridge, this just didn’t happen,” he said.

And from that time he said that he began to pray. “I said, God, please save me.” He doesn’t want to die. 』

Hines suffered spinal compression and a broken ankle, but miraculously survived. He’s one of only his 36 to do so.

Survived jumping off San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge

Kevin Hines was in a state of deep despair and despair when he heard a voice in his head telling him to “jump off” from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. “In the milliseconds that his hand was off the rail, there was instant regret,” Ms. Hines told his DailyMail.com.

On September 25, 2000, after walking around the sidewalk for nearly 40 minutes, Hines jumped over a four-foot railing and plummeted 25 stories into the frigid ocean at 130 miles per hour.

While in the air, Hines managed to position himself in a position to hit the water on his feet. “I kept thinking, this is not real, I’m not in this water, I didn’t jump off this bridge, this just didn’t happen,” he said.

Since the Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1937, 1,800 people have died by suicide, according to the nonprofit. bridge foundationwhose mission is to end suicides in landmarks.

Now 41, Hines is a prolific mental health advocate, motivational speaker, and author who travels the world to share stories of survival and recovery.

In high school, Hines was a winning wrestler and was on the school’s football team, but began struggling with mental health and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder by the age of 17.

He considered suicide twice in 1999 but survived. The first time was after reading a passage from Dwayne’s biography “The Rock,” a biography of Johnson during Johnson’s darkest days. The second time, a message preached by the late rapper DMX, aka Earl Simmons, pulled him back.

On September 25, 2020, he contemplated suicide for the third time and headed for the iconic bridge.

“I jumped on a bus to the Golden Gate, and it was filled with at least 100 people. I thought someone would stop me. I had tears in my eyes and kept screaming at what I heard.” he said.

“Nobody said anything. They laughed at my pain.

“I was so desperate and so devastated by my depression. It was a high tide day.”

When the bus arrived, Hines said he walked around the sidewalk for 40 minutes, at which point a woman approached him.

“I thought she would ask if she was okay, but she asked me to take her picture. I must have taken her picture five times,” he recalled.

“She was there to make happy memories, and I was there to die.”

Then she left. and he jumped. The woman, whom she had never met, was driving along the bridge when she saw him plummet and frantically called a friend in the U.S. Coast Guard who happened to be in charge of the area that day.

Hines was pictured hugging one of the Coast Guard officers, Marcus Butler, who “saved my life.” Butler also appeared in Hines’ 2018 documentary Suicide: The Ripple Effect.

An average of 30 people jump off the Golden Gate Bridge each year, and the first death occurred months after its completion in 1937.

When Hines hit the swell, he said he felt sea creatures beneath him and later learned that it was the sea lions that helped him float.

“I was drowning. Until I was floating.”

Help arrived quickly. One Coast Guard member was Marcus Butler, whom Hines credits for “saving my life.” He also appeared in the 2018 documentary Suicide: The Ripple Effect.

After being rescued, Hines was rushed to a nearby hospital’s ER, where the nurse on duty said, “I’m sorry, but I was in excruciating pain.”

Hines suffered a severe spinal cord injury, but the spinal cord was not amputated. He also landed on his feet and escaped without serious brain damage.of The impact fractured his lower back, where the spinal cord ends. The trauma specialists who treated him said this was the best case scenario.

Hines said the physical wounds eventually healed, but the emotional scars remain.

Hines, now 41, is a mental health advocate, motivational speaker and author.

A year after his attempt, his father took him back to the Golden Gate Bridge.

“We were picking flowers earlier in the day. They were purple tulips with golden pollen inside and beautiful green stems and a few leaves. When we got to the bridge , I didn’t want to go.” I thought, ‘Dad, I can’t do that.

“My father said we needed closure. He showed me the rails, we held hands and recited the prayer of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and dropped the flower with my right arm.

“I watched the flowers slowly fall to the surface of the water and it produced the smallest ripple effect, hence the name of our film ‘Suicide: Ripple Effect’.”

“And then two feet to my right, a sea lion appeared. The moment I shared with my father, who was my groomsman, next to him at my wedding, was definitely the most beautiful moment.”

Kevin Hines’ latest book, The Art of Being Broken: How Storytting Saves Lives, will be released on September 12th.

Hines said he found himself in 10 different psychiatric wards after surviving the jump.

During those confinements, he met the woman who would become his wife, Margaret Hines.

Margaret said she was visiting a relative in the same psychiatric ward as her. Hines called it “love at first sight.” The two married three years later.

“She’s an incredible human being and has saved my life countless appendages.”

In 2018, Hines produced the award-winning documentary Suicide: The Ripple Effect.

The film chronicles Hines’ personal journey and the ripple effect it had on those affected by his suicide attempt and subsequent lifework.

The film focuses on the stories of individuals and families who use their own tragedy to bring hope and healing to others.

Since its release, the film has had a global impact on hundreds of thousands of people in more than seven countries.

Hines has written three books.Through the Eyes of One? And His Latest Book,The Art of Being Broken: How Storytting Saves Lives (PostHillPress) will be released on September 12th.

The book presents his story and the stories of six other people around the world who have similarly survived extreme trauma and adversity.

“This book contains a lot of self-improvement for us. It’s for those who are.”

Hines is dedicated to helping others find ways to make #BeHereTomorrow and every day after it happen.

Hines spoke of his healing journey. “Thoughts of suicide don’t go away,” he told DailyMail.com candidly.

“They come back and haunt me, and I have to fight them,” he said.

The last time he had to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital was in 2019.

“When you don’t see hopeful options. When suicidal thoughts become so heavy and overwhelming that you reach the point where you start planning your death, I tell Margaret that I need to go to the psych ward as soon as possible.” “

An average of 30 people jump off the Golden Gate Bridge each year, and the first death occurred months after its completion in 1937.

Hines said his father, Patrick Hines, David Hull and Paul Muller, founded the Bridge Rail Foundation and was one of the co-founding directors.

The idea of ​​installing a safety net around the bridge was also suggested by David Hull, a founding member and first president of the Bridgerail Foundation, in 2006 after losing his daughter Cathy on the bridge on October 26, 2003. was dropped.

More than 80 years after the safety fence construction officially started in 2017, nearly 2,000 people have died. San Francisco standard report.

Hal and Kay James, whose son Michael died on the bridge in 2011, have argued for a safety net.

It was a tedious process with bureaucracy and funding, but now, 15 years later, The safety net barrier is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12099863/I-survived-jumping-San-Franciscos-Golden-Gate-Bridge.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 Survived jumping off San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge

Exit mobile version