A woman who jumped from the Washington Street bridge in Brainerd Wednesday evening is alive after rescuers pulled her from the frigid Mississippi River.
Sally Natysin of Brainerd was driving east across the bridge when she witnessed the woman step over to the bridge's outside edge on the south side. Natysin said she called 911 and pulled into the Dairy Queen parking lot before approaching the woman.
"I said, 'Ma'am, will you please come and talk to me?'" Natysin told Brainerd Police Sgt. John Davis. "She goes, 'Yeah.' I said, 'Will you come on the other side though, because I don't want anything to happen.'"
While Natysin tried to convince the woman to step back over onto the sidewalk, a passerby who wished to remain anonymous said he watched as two squad cars quickly pulled up at the east end of the bridge. He said at first he thought there was a crash before he noticed the two women standing on the bridge. As the officers approached the women, the man watched as the woman let go, falling feet first from the bridge.
"She was holding onto the rail looking at traffic," the passerby said. "It happened really quickly."
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A fall from the bridge to the river below is an estimated 50-60 feet, based upon clearance under the bridge and the depth of the water. According to the National Weather Service, the latest observed depth of the Mississippi River in Brainerd was 8.66 feet.
Dr. Stacy Brazier of rural East Gull Lake was also on the bridge and watched as the woman let go of the railing and disappeared. A physician at Essentia Health-St. Joseph's Medical Center, Brazier said she stopped to see if she could help "in case she was drowning, CPR, whatever was needed."
Brazier descended the bank toward the shore along with rescuers from the Brainerd Fire Department and North Memorial Ambulance.
"She drifted to the side and they pulled her out," Brazier said. "She never lost consciousness."
The woman was helped up the hill by rescuers, who placed her in an ambulance to take her to the hospital for evaluation.
Davis thanked Natysin for trying to help the woman.
"Thank you very much," he said. "I can't tell you how much we appreciate you taking your time to stop. It might be an obvious decision to you, it's not an obvious decision unfortunately to everyone."
Davis told Natysin for her "peace of mind" the woman appeared to be uninjured by the fall.
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"If she is injured, it's not significant enough where she wasn't able to swim, to walk, to talk," Davis said. "Physically, I think the outcome will be very favorable for her. Obviously there's some other help we'll be making sure she gets."
Natysin thanked responders for arriving so quickly.
"I don't want to see anybody like that," she said. "I was just hoping to get her off the bridge. I'm just happy she's OK."
Need help?
The Crisis Line and Referral Service is a 24-hour crisis line for everyone in Aitkin, Cass, Crow Wing, Morrison, Todd and Wadena counties.
"We are the 'someone' you can turn to when 'nobody' understands or when 'everyone' is too busy to listen," according to the organization's website. "Dedicated caring volunteers are available to help you share your hurts and fears before they become a crisis, as well as to help those in crisis get help."
Call the crisis line at 218-828-HELP (4357) or 800-462-5525.
