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John Trumpane, a 34-year-old Major League Baseball umpire, helped save the life of a suicidal woman planning to jump off the Roberto Clemente Bridge.
What Happened?
Trumpane was in Pittsburgh to officiate the series between the visiting Tampa Bay Rays and hometown Pirates. A few hours before first pitch at PNC Park on Wednesday night, Trumpane went for a run. As he was heading back to the ballpark and crossing the Roberto Clemente Bridge around 3:00 P.M., he noticed a woman climbing over the railing.
“Obviously, that grabbed my attention,” he said before Wednesday’s game, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“I asked a couple in front of me, ‘What’s this lady trying to do?’ and they said, ‘I don’t know.'”
Trumpane then explained how he ran over to the woman and struck up a conversation with her. He then asked why she had climbed over the railing, saying that the woman told him she just wanted to get a better look at the city and Allegheny River below. He responded: “Oh no, you don’t want to do that. It’s just as good over here. Let’s go grab some lunch and talk.”
“No, no, no, I’m better off on this side. Just let me go,” she told the umpire, who replied: “I’m not going to let you go, let’s talk this out. We’ll get you back over here.”
The woman continued to insist, saying: “No one wants to help me. Just let me go…You’ll forget me tomorrow.”
“I’ll never forget you, you can have my promise on that,” Trumpane replied.
The woman remained emotional, at which point Trumpane mouthed “call 911” to a passerby and then grabbed ahold of the woman’s arm.
Soon, two other men came and held onto the woman, preventing her from jumping. CBS News caught the scene on camera with footage showing the woman standing on the other side of the bridge as the trio work together to stop her from jumping.
Mike Weinman, a 32-year-old production manager, was one of the other men who helped save the woman’s life, the Tampa Bay Times reports.
“I got down and just grabbed her feet and held on as long at it took to get her back over the railing,” he said, before explaining he feared the worst when the woman managed to wriggle her feet free from his grip at one terrifying moment.”That was the scariest part. I was there in a good spot and helped how I could…I just did what I thought you should. It feels good know that she’s alive.”
Following Wednesday’s game, Trumpane said he hopes to be able to meet up with the woman on Thursday before heading out of town.
“This was an unbelievable day and I’m glad to say she can have another day with us and I’m glad I was in the right place at the right time,” he said. “This isn’t about me…This is just for her and people care about her. I think I’ve just been a caring person all my life and saw someone in need…I’m glad I was where I was and able to do what I was able to do.”
John Trumpane
John Trumpane is a 34-year-old MLB umpire who was in Pittsburgh to officiate a series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Pittsburgh Pirates. Before Wednesday’s game, he saw a woman climbing over the railing at Roberto Clemente Bridge. Trumpane quickly rushed over and began talking to her before grabbing her, along with two other men, and preventing her from jumping.
