Troopers Prevent Woman from Jumping Off Piscataqua River Bridge

PORTSMOUTH, NH - New Hampshire State Police troopers were able to save a woman who reportedly threatened to jump off the Piscataqua River Bridge in Portsmouth early this morning, according to an alert.

Troopers were called to the bridge area at about 12:40 a.m. after receiving a call from a third party reporting that there might be a woman in a black minivan heading to the bridge from Maine in order to jump off the bridge.

Portsmouth Police as well as state troopers from both New Hampshire and Maine canvassed the area and a trooper found the vehicle in the breakdown lane on the northbound side of the bridge.

“As (the trooper) approached, the female driver drove her vehicle a short distance, fled from the driver side and leapt over the railing, threatening to jump,” according to Lt. Christopher Vetter of the NHSP. “The female subject was distraught and suicidal. Over the next 50 minutes, members of the New Hampshire State Police Troop-A as well as the State Police Crisis Negotiations Unit negotiated with the female in attempt to get her to step back over the railing.”

Portsmouth Police and Maine State Police were able to detour traffic in the area “for the safety of all those involved” while troopers continued to try and talk to the woman.

“Once it became clear negotiations were failing and the female individual made credible threats that she was going to jump, the troopers made the decision to attempt and grab onto her,” according to Vetter. “A struggle ensued, however the troopers were able to gain control and remove the female to safety.”

The woman was treated at the scene and then transported to the Portsmouth Hospital by the Portsmouth Fire Department for a mental health evaluation and treatment of minor injuries, according to an alert.

Traffic on the northbound side of I-95 was stopped for about 40 minutes while the incident was ongoing.

NHSP were assisted at the scene by the Maine State Police, the Portsmouth Police Department, the Portsmouth Fire Department, the United States Coast Guard, and the Eliot, ME, Police Department.

A free, 24/7 confidential service is available that can provide people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress, or those around them, with support, information, and local resources. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255).