Boy Jumps from Corning, NY Brisco Bridge

red pin shows where this happened

This morning around 9 am as I walked along the Chemung River I saw in the distance the flashing lights of police cars on Brisco Bridge (AKA Centerway Bridge). They had just cordoned off the bridge to stop car traffic from crossing. A moment later I saw a person drop off the bridge and splash into the shallow water 40 ft below, partially stand then fall. Some men from the near shore ran out into the water and carried the person to the shore. There they laid him in the grass and waited until a rescue vehicle came. Then paramedics put the boy into their vehicle and drove off.

While this was happening I jogged up to the nearby pedestrian bridge and there spoke with a man who told me he had been on the Brisco Bridge walking his dog 20 minutes earlier, just before the police had come.  He had walked past 2 teenagers, one boy and one girl.  He was surprised to see they were standing on the wrong side of the rail and that they seemed to be deciding who would jump first. He told me he had started to call the police but the police arrived before he finished dialing. Apparently someone else had made a call earlier.  He also told me that a woman who was there with the police was a guidance counselor from the nearby high school. So it seems the jumper was likely a Corning HS student.

About 30 minutes after the jump a helicopter landed at, or right next to, the fire station that is only 200 ft from the where the boy had jumped.  I imagine it was a medical rescue helicopter there to transport the boy to Robert Packer Hospital.

I hope the boy's injuries were not severe.  And that the boy has people in his life who will help him resolve the distress that brought him to take this action.