The Vincent Thomas Bridge has long been famous for its appearance in countless movies that have been produced in Hollywood. Now, it's starting to gather a much more dubious distinction.
According to reports from the Los Angeles Police Department, an unnamed man drove along the bridge until parking his car, with the gas running and headlights still on, in the far right lane. From there he scaled a 10 foot security fence on the bridge and leapt to his death below.
Though the police have identified who the man was, they are not revealing his name at this time. They have stated that they would like to contact the man's family first before making that information public.
The LAPD did say that they believe the man was in his 40's. After jumping off of the bride, he would have experienced a fall of roughly 185 feet before hitting the water below.
Authorities still are not disclosing what they believe to be the cause of death. Though jumping off of the bridge was clearly the determining factor, it is not known whether he drowned to death or died on impact. Hitting the water at such a height often proves to not be much different than hitting concrete.
A passenger boat eventually arrived and retrieved the man. Rescue workers on board attempted CPR but w ere not able to revive him. Sadly, this is not the first time that tragedy has struck the famed bridge.
On October 26, 1990, 1964 Olympic bronze medalist Larry Andreasen attempted a world record dive from the west tower of the Vincent Thomas Bridge. He was unsuccessful, and died in that attempt.
More recently, less than a year ago famed director Tony Scott ("Top Gun") committed suicide in a very similar fashion on the bridge. Scott, who was 68 at the time, left no indication as to why he decided to jump.
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