A jumper from the Woodrow Wilson Bridge last Saturday morning discovered that construction workers will not allow tragedy, self inflicted or otherwise, if they can prevent it.
A woman, estimated to be in her mid 40s, was rescued from the murky waters of the Potomac River just after 8 a.m. by two WWB Project workers. She allegedly jumped from the draw span section into the river channel in an apparent suicide attempt. She was spotted by workers on the cranes.
"When we pulled her into the boat she asked why we didn't let her just die. I told her you picked the wrong bridge, lady. We won't allow that here," said Danny Davis, a post tension foreman on the project.
Davis and Mike Pamperin, a field engineer, who had just come to the project last week from the midwest, jumped into the rescue boat kept at the site after two of their co-workers, Alan Hoffman and Josh Santina, high on the crane, heard a splash and saw the woman in the water.
Bruce Santina, a project superintendent, called 911 and assisted Davis and Pamperin launch the boat, according to Ken Hirschmugl, spokesman, American Bridge/Kramer, JV, contractors for the drawbridge portion of the project.
"The guys on the crane were our eyes. I had no idea where she was in the water due to the construction," Davis revealed. "When we spotted her she was face down. I could see her shirt under the water so I reached down and pulled her into the boat."
Pamperin explained, "The boat was actually facing the Virginia shoreline when we got in. We had to turn it around. I think we hit everything in sight before we got it in the right direction. I couldn't believe she jumped."
DAVIS DESCRIBED the rescue effort as a team effort. "Everything went like clockwork. Even though nobody really knew what was going on at first. All we knew was somebody was in the water and it wasn't one of our guys," he said.
"When we first pulled her into the boat she was pretty much in shock. Then she opened her eyes and asked us why we had saved her," Davis recalled.
"In building this new drawbridge safety is a top priority. We watch out for the public safety in everything we do," Hirschmugl said.
"And that includes situations like this."
American Bridge/Kramer maintains a rescue boat at any site where construction involves working in the water, according to Davis.
By the time Davis and Pamperin got the woman back on the Virginia shoreline, Alexandria Fire Department's EMS team had arrived. She was transported to Inova Alexandria Hospital, according to Jane Malik, department public information officer. No additional information was available on her condition.
Allegedly, the woman, whose name or residency was not revealed, had stopped her car on the bridge at the drawspan and jumped into the water leaving her young son in the car. Traffic backed up for several miles, according to authorities.
The son was taken into custody for protection by the Maryland State Police who moved the vehicle to the Maryland side of the river, authorities said. Reports indicated both Maryland and Virginia State police responded. No information has been released on the reasons for her actions.