WOMAN LEAPS FROM BRIDGE, IS RESCUED

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 23, 1992                   TAG: 9201230333
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: HALES FORD                                LENGTH: Short
WOMAN LEAPS FROM BRIDGE, IS RESCUED
A 35-year-old Christiansburg woman distraught over family problems perched on the edge of a bridge for more than an hour Wednesday morning before jumping into Smith Mountain Lake, authorities said.
The woman was pulled from the frigid water within seconds by rescue squad workers positioned in boats around the bridge.
The woman, who was not identified, was treated at Franklin Memorial Hospital for slight hyperthermia and held for mental observation under a temporary detention order.
A passing motorist spotted the woman perched on the railing of Hales Ford Bridge and called the Bedford County Sheriff's Department at 5:41 a.m.
Deputy Sheriff J.L. Fielder arrived at the bridge a few minutes later and tried to persuade the woman to step away from the concrete railing.
Traffic on Virginia 122 was slowed for more than an hour as Fielder continued talking to the woman and rescue workers converged on the scene in boats.
The woman jumped at 7:20 a.m. and was pulled from the water by Kelley Standard, a member of the Scruggs Dive Team.
Capt. W.Q. "Bill" Overton Jr. of the Franklin County Sheriff's Department said the woman had left a suicide note in her vehicle parked near the bridge.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB