abc

Mon, May 3, 2010 : 8:51 a.m.

"We are continuing to pursue details of this story." S. Pepple I have not seen any follow up. Has the follow up been in a different article?

proudparent

Wed, Apr 28, 2010 : 1:41 p.m.

I havent read anymore about this person involved or have i seen any name. Does anyone know this persons name yet?

dyaljo

Tue, Apr 27, 2010 : 10:27 a.m.

I'm 31 from Ann Arbor particularly the West side where this occurred. My classmates and I are desperate to find out who this man was in case we knew him we would like to be able to mourn.

abc

Mon, Apr 26, 2010 : 8:18 a.m.

I am really disappointed by what I am reading here. This is a sad and tragic event made more so by being played out in a public setting. Even more unfortunate is that the public setting included young children, in the vehicles, at the school, and on the bridge. For me this event made me stop and think about the fragility of life and how someone who can appear to be normal or even happy may very well be tormented and miserable. It is a reminder to me that the many things we surround ourselves with, friends, family, objects, can be taken away suddenly. What I read above is so filled with blame and scorn and most of it is self-centered and, in my opinion, wrong. The person who came upon this scene first, stopped; as I would guess everyone else would have done had they been the first car down the road; whether they had kids in the car or not. Once there were people on site others chose to continue; and probably with good reason; those that drove on could not help this man. I would guess that many of those that kept going did what they could and called 911 reporting the incident to the police even though they would have suspected that others had already done that too. I strongly doubt that even one medically trained individual kept driving. It was clear with one brief look that only trained medical professionals could help in this instance if help was even possible at that point. Even the police and firemen first on the scene could do little for this man. Had a different accident occurred on this site that needed many hands I have little doubt that all of you would have stopped and lent a hand as you could; say an accident that needed help evacuating people and escorting them to safety, or something similar. This mans life essentially ended as soon as he hit the pavement and I suspect any doctor would agree that the damage was far too great for anyone to save him, no matter who was there. Casting aspersions on your neighbors over this tragedy is just adding more tragedy. Do I have the moral high ground if I cried? Am I lesser if I did not? How long should I mourn, simply because I was there? Am I required to mourn at all for someone I did not know, whose death I happened upon? I suspect that those who have commented have had other experiences with tragedy and then also know that there is quite a wide range of human reactions to events such as these.

thinker

Sat, Apr 24, 2010 : 10:37 a.m.

Nowhere do I see the name of this tragic person or his family, so we can pay our respects. Is he to remain nameless?

DagnyJ

Sat, Apr 24, 2010 : 7:47 a.m.

@queenjane, what a smart idea, to single out one person to make the call. If I had my phone, it would have been me.

queenjane

Sat, Apr 24, 2010 : 7:12 a.m.

@DagnyJ for future reference, Red Cross first aid training teaches you to single out one person in a crowd to make the 911 call. Otherwise, you get what you got...everyone assuming that someone else did. I think what to do at the scene is a tough call. I would've likely had my 5-year-old in the car at that time of day. I probably would have driven past, stopped ahead of the person on the road and made the 911 call. There would've been questions from the back seat, but in his 5-point-harness car seat, it would've been hard for him to see anything disturbing. When I was 5, our neighbor committed suicide in front of our house (intentionally running into our tree on a motorcycle with no helmet...he left a note). I didn't see anything, but I knew it happened, and my parents told me about depression--a useful teaching moment that has stuck with me all these years.

DagnyJ

Sat, Apr 24, 2010 : 6:35 a.m.

I was at an event in Saline working and a woman went into convulsions and fell to the ground. I was working and did not have my cell phone, so I asked several people to all 911. Half an hour later, no ambulance, so I asked to borrow someone's phone to call. Guess what? No one called. There were maybe 30 or 40 people standing around looking at the woman on the floor, and no one called. Even though many had phones. I borrowed the phone, called, the EMTs came, took the woman to the hospital. I am still dismayed that no one called. All those people stood and watched, and didn't even bother to call for help.

MI-expatriate

Sat, Apr 24, 2010 : 3:06 a.m.

I cannot believe some of the comments here. Why should you stop if you have no medical training and no one else has stopped?! So the body of a potentially living human being is not run over!!! A few years back I was driving back from dropping someone off at the airport at about 6AM in heavy fog and only realized there was a prone deer in my lane moments before I ran over it. (I called 911.) I was horrified by that and haunted for a very long time about what I might have felt if it had been a human. That is why you stop - to prevent mutilation of a corpse via your vehicle or another vehicle, even if you have no medical training whatsoever. You stop, and then you get out of your vehicle to an area where you will not be injured yourself if there is nothing you can do or know what to do for the victim. And you call 911. Anything else is incredibly inhumane. I cannot express enough shock about people first on the scene who thought it was OK to just drive around the victim. That is never OK. Are humans worth so little now? I was recently in Boston and although their roads are considered treacherous, my last minute lane changes and uncertain turns were not ever met with a horn. I cannot believe anyone there would have driven around a body in the road. What has happened to the supposedly friendly midwest that this might be OK'd by many people?!

passerby

Fri, Apr 23, 2010 : 11:27 p.m.

I was one of the first cars to drive around. Virtually all traffic stopped for the body. Some of the commentary regarding those who did not stop can not pass without comment or explanation. The implication of the commentary seems to be that people who failed to stopped are likened to the lack of reaction by the Kitty Genovese incident in New York some years back. As a person who carefully drove far out and around shoulder to proceed please understand, at the time I had my four-year-old son in the car on my way to pick up my five year old daughter, was able to quickly divert his attention and hold his head looking the opposite direction while we drove around the scene. I noted that virtually all vehicles (traveling an average of 70 mph) did stop upon recognizing what was lying in the road. I did also note that upon recognition folks took extra care to avoid the body. I don't consider myself a nihilist for protecting my family first. Death is hard enough for an adult to deal with much less trying to explain to your young child 'why' an otherwise healthy looking young man is laying facedown on the highway. I wasn't about to stop and expose my son to that. However, in light of the number of others who did stop I don't consider it the same as those who witnessed Kitty Geenovese's murder and did nothing. That was the sense of the comments about those who drove on. Certainly, it is regretful that that young man didn't believe himself deserving of another day of life. My thoughts and prayers go out to his parents and family that have deal with the aftermath. Thankfully, those who had children to protect from the scene did do not have to deal with the aftermath of reconciling this imaginary with our young children.

ShadowManager

Fri, Apr 23, 2010 : 12:33 p.m.

I didn't see it & didn't stop; just for the record.

Thommy Ji

Fri, Apr 23, 2010 : 12:05 p.m.

So, we were driving across the Newport bridge. There was one car ahead of us that witnessed the tragedy. We all stopped up top, but the people seemed inconvenienced below, simply driving around this poor guy. Thank-you Fxdwgi for stopping and helping, you did well. jci, i agree w/ you as well. Too bad it had to come to this. I went down but left as soon as the patrol pulled up... after the nurse was kind enough to come from the west bound way. IMHO the bridge is definitely not unsafe.

Nancy

Fri, Apr 23, 2010 : 8:17 a.m.

First, to those who stopped to help, your compassion and kindness is commendable. Second, I've read through all the comments, and the critism of aanews.com for allowing these comments, and have completely changed my viewpoint, thanks to those comments that are allowed! In the past, whenever I have come upon some emergency, unless I am the first to approach, I have continued on, knowing that I have no medical training to offer aid. (My husband, however, always stops if he can do so without causing an accident, even if we are running late for some event!!) I am thankful to the person who pointed out that to stop, stopping traffic, is most important to the rescue team. I hadn't thought of that and will now stop whenever safely possible. My prayers are with the family of this poor man.

scooter dog

Fri, Apr 23, 2010 : 8:14 a.m.

@acd5834 Its only ONE person not a group of people involved in this, Its a hard call as to stopping to help someone laying in a pool of blood on the e-way.Depends on the area,maybe the people driving around the person did not feel comfortable or know the area in question so they did not want to get involved.If it were in say detroit,stopping to help could get you mugged or worse,loss of your life. If in doubt call 911 or keep driving and then make the call.I am sure there are persons that think I am cold and heartless by my comments. In todays world I will be cold/heartless and alive as opposed to helpfull and dead.

greymom

Fri, Apr 23, 2010 : 6:13 a.m.

This whole things is awful, but I must say those that stopped to help, you are a blessing to those in need. Those didn't simply may not have known how to help this man and if many would have stopped there could have possible been more injuries. I am one of those people that would stop but we all handle trauma in different ways and some simply would have not been able to help, so it was best for them to continue on. Some may have had children in the car and we can all say a child would suffer seeing this. With that said, don't pass judgement of others, simply know you did a wonderful thing by stopping. My heart goes out to his family because we have not idea the trauma they are now going through! Pray for the family to get through this as best they can. People are so quick to judge- stop!! We don't know others hearts!

Anna

Fri, Apr 23, 2010 : 2:50 a.m.

My two cents: I have deep compassion and empathy for those struggling with depression or other mental illnesses, but, @Alan Benard - this man chose to end his life publicly. It was done on public property at a high-volume [traffic] time of day, so I feel that YES we as the general public have a right to know the story. It's not as though annarbor.com is posting images or something equally grotesque, they are just informing us on what happened, aka, the news. Also, this is not directed at any poster in particular, please do not scoff or snub your nose at people who went around the scene. I agree that the more people who would have stopped and gotten out, the more likely for another accident to occur. For those who did help, kudos to you.

Matt Cooper

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 8:41 p.m.

trs80: You said "What they dont need is the highway stopped as this presents even more of a hazard. Besides how many people does it take to screw in a light blub? Thought so." Let's make one point clear: When there is an accident on the high way such as a car accident or someone jumping off an overpass, the police/fire/EMS crews will oftentimes block off the entire highway for one reason and one reason only: rescuer safety. They don't care if it inconveniences you or not, because, as in this case, you have one intial victim and multiple rescuers who don't need to spend their time worrying about the idiots driving through and around the scene. If they allow pedople to simply drive through or around the scene you have a high potentiality of going from one victim, to several victims. Secondly, stopped traffic in a situation such as this does not, in any way shape or form, increase the danger factor. Vehicles and their drivers don't run down rescuers if they are at a stopped position. So, no, the drivers that drove around did not do the right thing. The right thing is to come to a complete stop and wait for a police officer tell you it's clear for you to proceed. Anything else puts peoples lives at risk needlessly.

Anonymous Due to Bigotry

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 8:34 p.m.

This story is so sad. It's even more sad that anyone would drive around the guy before someone else finally stopped to check on him, but I'm really not surprised. If people were already attending to him and others kept going then that's one thing, but if nobody was attending to him and people kept driving then that's quite another. I think we need more public awareness campaigns in the media encouraging others to try to help out those around them rather than abstract ideas like the environment, etc. Often I feel that people are more concerned about the environment or some political issue than they are about the people around them everyday. Around here it seems like people think that as long as they buy their cappuccino in 100% recycled paper cups then they're somehow doing their part for society. Leave it to someone else to help people dying in the middle of the road... I recycle and reduce my carbon emissions! Someone else's turn!

robyn

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 8:25 p.m.

How terrible. I feel so bad for this young man's family. The tragedy of someone doing this is doubled by the family's pain of always wondering if they could have somehow prevented it. Unfortunately, the question can never really be answered for them. I've had the total misfortune of being a first person at a bad accident. I had to stop - it was just something I couldn't NOT do. But that's me. I stop and carry turtles across the road so they won't get hit by a car. I don't lok at people who don't do those things as being 'less human or compassionate' than I am. Something for those who are offended by people who 'swerved' around the body to consider: You're diving along at 45, 50 - 60 - miles per hour. The LAST thing someone would ever think they would encounter is a human laying in the road. In our area we do encounter deer - sometimes in the road. I'd have to think that the shock of driving up at that speed and seeing 'something' in the road - a first thought is that it's NOT human. Seeing something like that is shocking, I believe it would probably take most people a few seconds - or even minutes after coming upon it for their mind to even grasp what they just saw. Especially when they are on their way someplace - their mind is absorbed in thought. So really - give those people a break, even if it did occur to them to go back - they may have thought they'd only be in the way. I can tell you that when I have gone by accidents and the police have us all slowed up and shifting into one lane - I will not look at the accident. I feel so bad for the people, I also feel that my gawking at them at such a vulnerable and horrific time borders on morbid cruelty. I guess if it were me out there - injured and crumpled om the road - I wouldn't want people staring at me. That's just me tho...

jns131

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 7:41 p.m.

Didn't another boy last year jump from this same bridge? Shutting down M 14 as well? Gee, sounds like this bridge is going to get a nickname.

kiridee

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 5:55 p.m.

I guess the main point of this argument is, did people who were the first to see the man on the road drive by without stopping to call 911? That seems to be the rub to me. If I came upon the scene and there were already cars stopped and helping I would drive by. But I would never ever not stop if it appears I am the first upon the scene or saw it happen. It is implied that people who were there first did not stop. That is shameful. Even without a phone, you can flag someone down, or try to stop bleeding.

trs80

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 4:20 p.m.

Pretty sure one person as a witness is all the Police need. What they dont need is the highway stopped as this presents even more of a hazard. Besides how many people does it take to screw in a light blub? Thought so. The drivers who went around did the right thing. Lets not play the blame game and take this tragic story out of context.

MH123

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 1:57 p.m.

@fxdwgi- I was one of the people that apparently needs to "look in the mirror and ask yourself what you REALLY should have done", however when I drove past there were already 2 cars stopped and one police car coming up the shoulder. I'm sure if you talk to the police department they would prefer that most people slowly and safely continue on their way rather than turn this tragic event into a spectacle. Although I applaud you for stopping and helping, its not right for you to call out everyone that kept driving. It appears as if you are just looking for a pat on the back or a "job well done".

DERF

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 1:42 p.m.

Let me try this again....... All the people that HELPED out doing this issue on M-14 "Thanks" - let's not talk negative about any vehicles going past, as most of us noticed we needed the Police to get thru ASAP.

Susan

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 1:42 p.m.

To not stop and help appalls me. I was going westbound when I saw this person lying in the road. It looked like it perhaps was a minute or two after it happened. If you stop and offer, and the folks there say "we got it handled", then drive on. But don't NOT STOP. This young man was the age of my son. My prayers to his family.

ThaKillaBee

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 12:37 p.m.

@fxdwgi - While you should be commended and heralded for stopping and lending a hand, I see no logic in stopping the other lane of traffic, and no reason to judge others who did not stop. As others have said, there would be nothing I (or probably the majority of drivers) could do to help that had not already been done. Should everyone have just stopped and gawked with their mouths open? If I were there and saw that the situation was already being dealt with, I would have driven away and looked in the mirror later content with the fact that I GOT OUT OF THE WAY to let the professions do their job.

rick

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 12:19 p.m.

Dont judge others for driving around the scene, I have no medical experience, I could not have helped, the best thing I could do is get out of the way. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem...

acd5835

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 12:14 p.m.

Thanks to fxdwgi and the others for stopping and helping. You'd be amazed at the kinds of accidents that people don't stop for... I recall one early morning on EB M-14 to SB US-23 where there was a crash and the disabled cars were scattered across the four lanes and the shoulder at the split; before traffic was controlled, people were threading that needle at nearly full speed, not bothering to slow down or stop, just swerving left and right and continuing on... unbelievable. This is why the fire department usually blocks several or even all lanes often even at the protest of the police. On one hand I can sometimes understand someone not stopping; in their head, "I know nothing about first aid, I faint at the sight of blood, there's already someone there helping, my kids are in the car and I don't want them to see this..." etc... but still... on the other hand, calls come in for serious crashes, people ejected, etc. and when you get there, there's not a bystander to be found - the caller(s) didn't even bother to stop to see if anyone was hurt. Again, unbelievable.

Christina

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 12:08 p.m.

I saw this from the West lane on my way home from work yesterday also. What a tragic way to end up. This is the 2nd suicide this year that I have witnessed. I myself have gone through depression and know how hard it is to just deal with it. Most people need to see a scar or blood to comprehend what a person is going through. What they dont understand is that getting a good psychiatrist and therapists are just as important as a good heart surgeon. Even our medical systems demean mental illness as it is usually only covered at 60% after a large deductible. My prays for the man and his family, friends and the people that had to witness this.

Randy Tessier

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 12:06 p.m.

Re: "The protocol when someone jumps off of an overpass." Yesterday, as I was entering onto eastbound M14 at the Maple rotary I saw cars veering to each side of the road and a cloud of dust as a semi careened into the grass. It was at a significantly reduced speed, then, 5 - 10 mph that I slowly rolled up to a sight that made me hope against hope that I wasn't seeing what I thought I was. It was a young man's body lying fully prone, arms beneath him as in a yoga position, exactly horizontal to the white lines at the middle, and sheet white. My mind raced, trying to bring some context to something horribly foreign to my world. A man was on a cell standing at the side of the road. It had just happened. In shock and disbelief, I slowly rolled around him and continued on to my girlfriends daughter's lacrosse game in Plymouth. What did I think? Two things: 1) My heart sickened at imagining what sad circumstances might have led him to this; 2) here was a fit young man my son's age that made a decision none of us can fathom. As for driving around him, were I a doctor I would have stopped. As it was I made an instant decision that my stopping would only add to the chaos. Best - Randy Tessier

jcj

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 12:03 p.m.

@fxdwgi Thanks for your willingness to stop and do what you could. In cases where someone is in need of help it can be hard to know what to do. If someone can offer help they certainly should. In cases where they would just end up being gawkers or in the way, it might be best to respectfully continue on. Some that went on through no doubt felt inconvenienced others probably did not know what to do and did not know what was going on until it was too late. Hopefully this family can find peace at some point.

unclemercy

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 11:55 a.m.

why should the people who did not stop feel ashamed? why has having stopped left you feeling empowered?

fxdwgi

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 11:48 a.m.

I was the guy that stopped and put my car in front of him and directed traffic. I couldn't understand why people were going around him as if it was an inconvenience to their day. First I want to say "Thank You" to the lady in the Astro van who was the nurse heading west-bound who stopped and attended to the young man. Also I want to thank the young man in the Dodge truck who helped me block the other lane with his truck. Too the rest of you who went around the scene and did not bother to help, look in the mirror and ask yourself what you REALLY should have done. You should be ashamed.

blahblahblah

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 11:35 a.m.

It would seem to me that the four foot barriers are measured from the street surface level. Most joggers and bikers do not walk on the raised sidewalk area. From the raised sidewalk the barrier appears to be about three feet tall. That is the area where all the school students (elementary, middle and high school) walk. I was surprised during the development process of Skyline that this bridge was not much of an issue. Maybe we were too focused on saving frogs and salamanders at the time.

unclemercy

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 11:27 a.m.

yes this is obviously just like tienanmen square. what is the protocol when someone jumps off an overpass in front of your vehicle? is it considered disrespectful to carefully drive around the scene? do we all stop until all lanes of travel are clear? please advise.

URmaster

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 11:17 a.m.

The 4 foot tall barriers on either side of the bridge are too wide to accidentally fall from. One would have to make a real effort to climb and then jump onto the freeway. I cycle across the freeway overpass on my way to and from Huron River Drive multiple times a week and I'm glad I missed this tragic event.

Salinemary

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 10:50 a.m.

This man and his family are in my thoughts and prayers.

fromA2

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 10:22 a.m.

I was just walking over that bridge yesterday afternoon and thinking that the guard rail there is way too low. There are kids that have to walk over that bridge to get home from school and I really wish they would raise the height for their protection and to make it harder for things like yesterday's tragedy to happen again. I'm glad no one has accidentally fallen, but it is scary walking over it.

alternativestructures

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 10:21 a.m.

Amalie, Understood. It still does not change the fact that this is not a code compliant pedestrian overpass.

alternativestructures

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 9:57 a.m.

As a resident of the area I was drawn to the sentance which stated that they were unsure if he jumped or fell. With the recent opening of Skyline HS and the parent of school age children, this overpass, without an approriately protected sidewalk, is one of two routes my children can take to the new school. The other being the very pedestrian friendly roundabouts on N. Maple. Although it will not stop those who intend to jump, I cannot believe that the city has not addressed the safety issues on this harrowing route. Let's get a walk placed on this bridge similar to that found on the Liberty street or Scio bridges over I-94!

Sean Hickey

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 9:30 a.m.

I came up on this scene driving up Newport a few moments after it happened. The most striking thing was that cars on M-14 were just driving around the victim, until one driver blocked traffic in front of the body.

Char Luttrell

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 9:08 a.m.

How incredibly sad. I will be praying for everyone involved in this tragedy, including any of the school children who may have witnessed something. Please, annarbor.com, let us know more, not in an intrusive way that would offend the family, but in a way that would help others who are struggling like this young person was. For example, a hopeful story about treatment for depression could be a lifeline for someone else and, in a small way, could bring some good out of this sadness.

Hospadaruk

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 8:47 a.m.

I was passing by on M-14 Westbound at a time when it must have just happened. No police had yet arrived. I first saw the traffic backed up on the other side and my eyes where then drawn to the front of the line, seeing the young man's body lying in the road and a person (a woman?) standing in front of the stopped line of traffic. The image struck me as a mix of two pictures: the person standing in front of the tanks in Tienanmen Square and that of the woman crying over the body of the fallen Kent State student. I am the father of two boys, now young men. While driving by this horrible scene, my heart was in my throat and I thought of them, only wanting to hold them, to know if they were safe. They are. My sorrow and grief is so great over this regrettable event, I pray for the family and the young man. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tianasquare.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kent_State_massacre.jpg

Steve Pepple

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 7:45 a.m.

We are continuing to pursue details of this story.

abc

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 7:43 a.m.

AA.com please follow up on this story; not necessarily the gory details but simply some background. There were scores of kids playing at Wines, and coming to Wines for practices, who witnessed something. Some heard it happen as the baseball / soccer field is just over the fence. Others stopped to look over the bridge on their way and got an eyeful. It would be helpful to be able to talk to them truthfully about the background of this tragic event.

Mike B

Thu, Apr 22, 2010 : 3:31 a.m.

I drove slowly by on the other carriageway before the police arrived. The red haired man was laying on his right side and as mentioned by others, there was massive bloodloss from his head. Difficult to see how he would make a recovery from these injuries. There were a few people on the overpass staring down. Impossible to know whether he jumped or was pushed....

acd5835

Wed, Apr 21, 2010 : 8:44 p.m.

My comments in the earlier story about a crash on M-14 at Newport... this person jumped/fell from the overpass estimated to be about 30 feet and landed headfirst in the lanes of travel. They were not struck by a vehicle, but still sustained massive injuries and bloodloss from the fall. They left the scene alive but in very critical condition and personally I would be surprised if they survive.