No sign of woman who fell from #BayBridge earlier this morning. Search continues w/ CHP and Coast Guard. pic.twitter.com/L27xWbMFxG
— CHP San Francisco (@CHPSanFrancisco) August 12, 2015
Crews are searching the water beneath the Bay Bridge after a woman involved in a crash on the span ended up in the Bay — but according to witnesses, the mysterious woman might have already emerged from the depths.
A California Highway Patrol spokesperson says that CHP, fire crews and the United States Coast Guard are all searching for a woman who either jumped from or fell off the bridge this morning, but so far they haven't found her.
It all started at 2:06 this morning, when a crash was reported in eastbound Bay Bridge traffic just east of the Treasure Island off-ramp, a CHP spokesperson says.
When officers arrived, they found the single vehicle involved in the crash. Additional details of the collision were not available at publication time.
One person standing on the Bay Bridge bike path and two more women were seen headed east on the bike path away from the crash scene. Officers believe that those women were in the car at the time of the collision, the Chron reports.
As officers approached the women, one of them climbed the rail of the bridge, but “as the officer was about 50 yards away, she began to slip and fall,” CHP Sgt. Reginald Gayles told the Chron.
Boats with flashing lights cont to search for woman who jumped over guard rail into water on bay bridge pic.twitter.com/LPvV8xvaGd
— Janet O (@JanetONews) August 12, 2015
The drop from the bridge to the water is about 70 feet, and the water is between 50-60 degrees in temperature.
“The officer requested a notification of the Coast Guard... We got the Coast Guard to deploy a boat and air for rescue,” Gayles says.
Breaking: officials searching for woman who dropped 70 feet below into the frigid waters on bay bridge pic.twitter.com/aA73EwyNeC
— Janet O (@JanetONews) August 12, 2015
According to KPIX, "the people involved in the accident may have been robbery suspects, but that’s unconfirmed."
Search for woman in bay is continuing. CHP is following up on a report of a woman who allegedly exited the water. pic.twitter.com/ibb4R6zwuz
— CHP San Francisco (@CHPSanFrancisco) August 12, 2015
A CHP spokesperson says that they started receiving notifications from motorists at around 6 a.m. that a woman was spotted emerging from the water, and KPIX reports that they've also heard reports from drivers that "a woman who was wet tried to flag down drivers near the Bay Bridge."
As of publication time, however, CHP hasn't been able to confirm those reports, and the search for the fallen woman continues.