Bystanders rushed to try to rescue a man who jumped from an elevated walkway above Long Beach’s Rainbow Harbor at around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, but the man ultimately succumbed to his injuries, according to witnesses.
Aaron Pressey, who was boarding a glass-bottom boat cruise, said he saw the man standing outside the railing of a structure that connects a pedestrian walkway over Shoreline Drive to the edge of the harbor.
The man appeared ready to jump from the railing when he “realized he had something in his pocket that he didn’t want to get wet, and handed it to a gentleman on the other side of [the] railing,” Pressey said. “He was about to jump again, but realized he had his sunglasses on still, so he removed them and handed them to the same guy.”
Moments later, the man jumped, landed on the dock below and then ended up in the water, according to Pressey.
Nilda Langston, who was captaining the boat tour, said her crew and several bystanders rushed to get the man out of the water using the boat’s man-overboard gear.
She said a deckhand and Good Samaritan “jumped in and grabbed him” before a group helped hoist the man back onto the dock.
Jennifer Silver, a registered nurse, said she and her husband Marc were nearby. Her husband, an Air Force veteran, started CPR with help from Silver and several other bystanders, she said.
Soon, a crowd formed, Langston said: “There was a lot of people, lots of children. It’s a Saturday on the waterfront.”
Lifeguards, police and paramedics quickly arrived. Long Beach Fire Department Capt. Jack Crabtree said medics started to treat the man, but they determined he was dead.
“They did try to save him but ultimately they ended up covering him,” Langston said.
Police soon took over the scene. The incident was originally called in as a possible suicide, and there were no signs of foul play, but the investigation is ongoing, Long Beach Police Department spokesperson Eric Stachura said.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with more information about bystanders who helped and more details from a witness.