Police, Firefighters Honored for 'Heroic' Rescue of Distraught Woman From Livermore Overpass

By AUTUMN JOHNSON

Officers from the Livermore Police Department, along with firefighters from the Livermore Pleasanton Fire Department, were honored this week for saving the life of a woman who tried to jump from an overpass in April.

State Assembly Woman Catharine Baker and members of the Livermore City Council recognized the heroic efforts of the first responders who saved a 50-year-old resident during an intense rescue that shut down the street and halted trains on the evening of April 17.

Mayor John Marchand had high praise for his first responders, “The community has every reason to be proud of our police officers and fire fighters. This is the service that they are prepared to deliver to anyone at a moment’s notice. They put their lives at risk every day to protect us. The job is even more difficult when they have to protect people from themselves. This was a remarkable team effort and it deserves to be recognized.”

Lieutenant Joe Draghi, Sergeant Steve Goard, Officer Ryan Sanchez, Officer Kevin Foreman, Officer Andrew Estes, Reserve Officer Don Swanson were honored from the police department.

Engine 99 - Captain LaRont, Engineer Stanford, Firefighter Duffy, Engine 97 - Captain Solak, Engineer Plake, Firefighter Ravera, Truck 96 - Captain Della Santa, Engineer Baxter, Firefighters Heller and Goodwin and Battalion Chief Joe Testa were honored from the Livermore Pleasanton Fire Department.

Livermore Police Officer Ryan Sanchez, who called the rescue “extremely dramatic,” said the woman’s husband called police just after 10 p.m. that night to say his wife was threatening to harm herself by jumping off of the overpass at First and Scott streets.

Full story, photo here:

• Incredible Rescue: Distraught Woman Trying to Jump Off Livermore Overpass Saved By Police, Fire

“When Officer Andrew Estes arrived, he saw the woman on the opposite side of the fence, standing on a ledge that was about five to six inches wide, with her fingertips through the fence,” Sanchez said.

According to Sanchez, Estes began to talk to the woman, who was facing the fence at the time, grabbing her hand to comfort and to try to secure her through the fence. Sanchez says more officers arrived and the woman refused to answer any questions from the officers.

“She kept asking to be let go,” Sanchez said. “She appeared to become more determined to jump. As fire crews put the ladder up on the fence, the woman panicked and tried to jump.”

Sgt. Steve Goard, who had climbed up on the fence, with his torso hanging over and Officer Foreman holding his feet, had grabbed onto the woman’s forearm. Officer Sanchez and Lt. Draghi held onto the woman, who was now facing away from them, by the waistband of her jeans while firefighters worked to secure her arms to the fence with nylon straps as her feet dangled.

“Rescue crews were literally stepping on our backs trying to get over the fence to reach her,” he said. ”This was absolutely a team effort between police and fire in saving this woman’s life.”

“She was located at the highest point of the overpass and on the outside of the chain link fence,” Livermore Pleasanton Fire Battalion Chief Joe Testa said. “Firefighters on the roadway side of the fence positioned a ladder and worked with police officers to hold the female while another firefighter accessed the outside of the fence and positioned himself behind the female to ‘hug’ her to the fence.”

Police officials say that had the fence given way at any point during the rescue, all the involved rescuers would have fallen over the ledge.

One of the officers involved in the rescue said, “She is alive today due to the efforts of all involved … There was not room for one more additional body to hold onto her but we would have lost her if we were one person less. It was perfect unity between the fire and police departments.”

Photo courtesy Livermore Police Facebook

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