YORKTOWN, Va. (WAVY) — Body camera footage captured the moment first responders arrived to the Coleman Bridge to help save a person who appeared to be trying to take their own life Tuesday morning.
The call came in just before 9 a.m. Tuesday of a disabled vehicle on the Coleman Bridge. Rachel and John Guthrie were on the beach below and took notice, with Rachel Guthrie amazed by what she saw.
“I told him, I said, ‘Look, isn’t this person about to jump off the bridge?’ And I was like, ‘I cannot watch that.'”
John Guthrie saw what appeared to be a person standing on the side of the bridge.
“I picked up my phone to zoom in on the camera to see exactly what was going on,” he said. “And there was a person on the side of the bridge who looked like they were going to jump.”
Noticing that the police were already on scene, Guthrie shot video of several York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office deputies attending to a woman.
Deputy First Class Ryan McManus arrived first.
Above video is a bodycam view of a rescue on the morning of July 1 on the Coleman Bridge (Video: York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office)
“As soon as I pulled up behind the vehicle, she hopped out of her vehicle and jumped over the railing of the bridge and was hanging on to the other side,” McManus said.
McManus approached the elderly woman and engaged in conversation, telling her that they were there for her and cared for her. When the woman implied he’d have to know her to care about her, he replied, “I don’t have to know you to care about you.”
McManus continued to speak with her and pleaded with her not to go through with jumping, which helped de-escalate the incident.
“She told me her hand was slipping, and that was my cue to go in and be able to grab and pull her back up … with the help of my other deputies and the paramedics,” McManus said.
Paramedics with York County Department of Fire and Life Safety helped in the rescue and took the woman to the hospital.
Deputy First Class James Robinson and Deputy Sheriff Danielle Taylor, also with York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office assisted in the rescue. Taylor wanted to share this message.
“I hope this gets to the community and says that if you have issues with mental health,” she said, “that we can be there for you and that we’re happy to be there for you.”
“Glad that I could be there to do that for her, and as soon as we got in the back of the medic, she just gave me the biggest hug, and that just makes everything in law enforcement so worth it that we could help her,” Taylor said.
Robinson praised the team effort it took to save the life.
“You feel a sense of relief that we were able to get her over to level ground,” Robinson said. “That she’s safe, that she’s not hurt and everybody did a good job,” Robinson said.
If you or someone you love is going through a hard time, help is out there. Reach out to the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. They also offer Chat services and deaf/HoH help on their website here.
A full video of the rescue, courtesy of John Guthrie, can be found below:
