NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Just days after a man committed suicide by jumping off the Morris Goodkind Bridge, another man attempted to do the same from the parallel Donald Goodkind Bridge at approximately 10am this morning.

But this man had a different fate.  He ended up surviving the jump and swimming to the shores of Edison Township.

“We got a guy that just jumped off the bridge on Route 1,” reported a dispatcher this morning on the police radio.

“Apparently he’s swimming right now, though,” said the dispatcher, adding that the Fire Department would be dispatched to the Edison side of the river.

The man eventually made it to shore and began walking before authorities caught up with him.

Police announced Monday that a man had died over the weekend in a similar incident.  Witnesses told police they saw a man standing “near the railing of the bridge outside of a parked truck,” at around 2:30 am on Saturday, October 18.

“On Saturday morning New Brunswick police officers recovered the body of an apparent suicide jumper from the Morris Goodkind Bridge.

“At approximately 8:50am officers on the New Brunswick police boat (Marine 1) recovered a body approximately 300 feet south of the bridge. At this time there is no evidence to suggest foul play is involved, however detectives continue the investigation.”

In response to a trend of suicide jumpers, earlier this month the state’s Department of Transportation (DOT) banned pedestrians and cyclists from using the Victory Bridge, which connects Perth Amboy and South Amboy.

Leaders in Perth Amboy have urged the DOT to erect fences on that bridge that would effectively prevent jumpers, a move they have not yet committed to make.

Editor at New Brunswick Today | 732-993-9697 | editor@newbrunswicktoday.com | Website

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.