MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Kevin Van Ostenbridge remembers his aunt, Susan, as always being the life of every family gathering. But that all changed one night in July 2018.
“My family woke up to calls in the middle of the night. It was (Florida) Highway Patrol calling my cousins to, unfortunately, tell my aunt that her car was found on the top of the Skyway,” Ostenbridge shared. “We’re all from here, born and raised here, and know what that means.”
In the days that followed, his family all gathered and waited until her body was ultimately found in the waters of South Tampa Bay.
It’s a phone call too many families have received over the years.
Susan Van Ostenbridge was one of 15 people who jumped to their death from the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in 2018. Another 17 people also attempted or threatened suicide from the bridge that year.
The Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge is one of Tampa Bay’s most well-known landmarks. Yet for decades, the bridge has been the scene of tragedy, attracting people contemplating suicide.
Various preventative measures have been installed over the years, helping to save lives.
Van Ostenbridge, a Manatee County Commissioner, said that although his aunt did struggle with mood swings and with her relationships with family members over the years, they never thought she would take her own life.
“Had any of us known, we would have immediately been there for her and taken whatever steps necessary to get her the help that she needed,” Van Ostenbridge said.
Preventative measures on the bridge include signs, emergency call boxes, and a fence installed in 2021.
“This fence line is giving someone a second opportunity to think about what they are trying to do, and hopefully, they’ll take this as a sign that they should not be doing this,” said Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Kenneth Watson.
Before the fence was installed, there was an average of one suicide per month. But since its completion, five people have died after jumping from the bridge, a stark decline.
The most recent death, just two weeks ago, was the first in 19 months.
Six call boxes, three on each span of the bridge installed in 1999, have also been effective. Those phones connect directly to the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, with a special ring tone, so counselors already know someone on the bridge is in need.
Those call boxes also alert the Florida Highway Patrol, which has a trooper always assigned to the area around and including the Skyway Bridge.
“No one has ever jumped that has picked up one of those phones,” Watson said.
A counselor from the Crisis Center will talk to them until help arrives.
“Whatever is on their heart, whatever they need to say,” CEO Clara A. Reynolds said. “Because at the same time they are talking to us, FHP is on the way.”
But just because these preventative measures save someone’s life, the crisis center knows that does not mean suicidal thoughts just go away.
“My message to you all is the world is never a better place without you. We need you here, and the pain that you are feeling right now, there is a way to get to the other side of that,” Reynolds said. “The most important portion of this journey is to just pick up the phone and dial 988 right now.”
If you or a loved one are considering suicide, dial 988 to reach the suicide and crisis lifeline.
