Authorities mull options to prevent bridge jumping
Several people have jumped to death from Rt. 35 bridge
BY CHRIS MURINO Staff Writer
After yet-another person jumped to his death from the Victory Bridge on Aug. 17, the state is looking at ways to reduce the likelihood of this happening again.

State Department of Transportation (DOT) spokesman Tim Greeley said officials are looking into some sort of safety fencing for the Route 35 span over the Raritan River between Sayreville and Perth Amboy.

"It's an ongoing thing," Greeley said. "We're looking at its costeffectiveness and what kind of safety device [to use]. We want to look at everything we can to determine what the best possible option would be. For instance, what the effect on traffic would be."

Reports indicate that Raymond Cushing, 52, of Rahway, died last month after jumping from the Victory Bridge. His body was found shortly after the jump near Smith Street at a boat dock.

Greeley said the DOT has been working on this for the past month or so.

"There's been a rash of these occurrences," he said. "This is something we take seriously."

The Sayreville Police Department reported that in 2006, there were two suicide attempts and one suicide on the Sayreville side of the bridge. In 2007, there was one suicide. And so far in 2008, there have been three suicide attempts and one suicide.

The Perth Amboy Police Department could not be reached for comment for data on their city's side of the bridge.

Money is one of the factors being looked at by the state, and Greeley said the cash would most likely come out of the state's maintenance budget. Another issue that will be taken into consideration is motorist safety.

Detective Mathew Bandurski of the Sayreville Police Department said it is not known why there are seemingly more jumpers from this bridge as opposed to other nearby bridges, like the Driscoll Bridge.

"I have no idea," Bandurski said.

Sayreville Councilman David Kaiserman, an active volunteer with the Sayreville Emergency Squad, believes that the copycat effect is a big factor in why people continually use the Victory Bridge to jump.

However, Kaiserman is glad that the state is taking action.

"Unfortunately, it's easy to jump from the bridge," Kaiserman said. "I'm very happy and proud that the state is giving its time and money to prevent this from happening again."

Kaiserman thinks putting some fencing around just the Victory Bridge is not enough, however.

"The Driscoll Bridge is right next to it," Kaiserman said. "There's no shoulder. It's a lot harder. But, someone who's desperate might just do it. So, I hope the state puts up fencing there too."

Another reason Kaiserman is in favor of the fencing is the amount of resources it takes to locate bodies in the water.

"You need one or two boats out there to search," Kaiserman said. "It takes up a lot of resources. The river's big."

Kaiserman said he would prefer one of the two options: Either put up fencing or allow for more resources for the search missions. However, he would rather the state put up the fencing.

"I'd rather be proactive as opposed to reactive," Kaiserman said. "Jumping ties up resources for other areas of town. If we can eliminate the need for more resources, we can keep medical personnel close to home."