A guy Kevin Hines who attempted suicide by jumping from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge has spoken about what happened when he struck the sea. He had finally bowed to the voices telling him to commit suicide, and his eyes were wet with tears. But around 10:40 a.m. on that gloomy September day, he launched himself over a four-foot-high railing and started his desperate free fall.
He can still clearly remember the seconds just after leaping 240 feet from the famous structure in September 2000 and is now trying to inspire others by sharing his experience.
Kevin Hines remembers feeling “compelled” to die up until the moment he leaped from the railing of the Golden Gate Bridge after going through “the most terrible, emotional agony” he had ever gone through.
“I believed it to be too late. What have I done, I don’t want to die, I thought to myself “Later, Hines said. “I realized I had committed the biggest error of my life.” Despite Hines’ impact fall reaching 75 mph, he amazingly lived.
Kevin Hines Experience
As he related his experience, Kevin Hines stated, “My legs were entirely immobilized. “I had broken my lower vertebrae into shards like glass,” the victim said. The survivor recalls struggling to reach the surface without the use of his legs and with only one breath left because he “knew he wanted to survive” after being dropped 70 feet under the ocean.
“I can’t remain afloat; I break the surface and bob around in the water. I’ll inevitably drown, “He can recall.
I took this tremendous intake of oxygen at the top, I remember that like it was yesterday,” he recalled. It was as though I had a new birth that day. Hines was only 19 years old.
The Golden Gate Bridge, with its magnificent orange arch crossing San Francisco Bay, has the dubious distinction of being one of the most frequented locations for suicide worldwide. More than 1,300 people have reportedly jumped off the bridge since 1937, not including those who went unreported, according to bridge officials. Only 16 people have made it.
Sea Lion: A Life Saver
Kevin Hines prayed to God that he would survive the ordeal because he realized he had “made a mistake” in trying to end his life. However, when he noticed a monster circling beneath him in the water, he believed he faced even greater danger. He believed a shark was about to bite him and kill him, but the animal that began brushing up against him was a sea lion.
According to reports, onlookers believed the sea lion was aiding Kevin Hines in staying afloat. The Coast Guard eventually pulled Hines from the water.
Hines had to stay in the hospital for a month to heal from his wounds. He avoided the imposing art deco bridge for a full year. His father brought him back to the spot on the first anniversary of his leap to help him release the pain.
Hines threw a purple blossom into the sea below while facing the gleaming skyscrapers of San Francisco. He now returns on the same day each year.
He said, “I was intended to pass away. “I desired to perish. That jump makes me wonder, “Who am I?” every day. Who am I?”
The Ripple Effect
Following his failed suicide attempt, Kevin Hines tells his tale in the hopes of inspiring “at least one individual” to believe that they had the resources to overcome their problems and that they might be able to stay alive.
Suicide: The Ripple Effect, a documentary by Hines, cites research that suggests a single suicide impacts 115 people. Cracked Not Broken, Surviving, and Thriving After a Suicide Attempt is another book by Hines.
As time went on, the cost increased. The jumpers included janitors, attorneys, dishwashers, young mothers, college students, scientists, peddlers, laborers, socialists, businessmen, models, writers, hospital patients, professors, accountants, bankers, and swingers, according to a 1973 San Francisco Examiner article about the 500th bridge suicide.
Wrapping Up
An 87-year-old man was the oldest person to go over the barrier, while the youngest was a 5-year-old girl. According to news reports, one pair jumped together while holding hands after a final kiss.
Like Hines, many survivors regretted their decision to leap while still in the air. But sad individuals tend to be drawn to the span. According to Seiden, some jumpers even cross the Bay Bridge to jump to their deaths from the top of the Golden Gate. A group advocating for a barrier to stop others from jumping includes John Kevin Hines, who survived a suicide attempt after jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge.