It's been confirmed that the 16-year-old girl who survived a fall off the Golden Gate Bridge this morning was attempting to commit suicide. California Highway Patrol spokesman Patrick Roth told Contra Costa Times (via Mercury News) that the girl was visiting from Southern California with her family and had handed her sister a diary containing a suicide note at some point beforehand.
The family who saved the victim had quite a story to tell. Eric Hall, his father Merle, and Hall's two teenage sons were sailing the bay when they spotted the jumper, which happened to be during the "maximum flood" period -- when currents were rapidly moving into the bay like a river. The family quickly mobilized and battled fog and wind to reach the victim. Hall jumped into the water to keep her afloat until the rescue team arrived, and he hadn't realized she was alive until he heard moaning and saw her coughing up blood.
The girl didn't break any bones, but she suffered a punctured lung, a bruised back, and had internal bleeding. She is expected to survive.
