Desperate leap

On July 19, 2004, a dramatic piece of footage aired on national television. A police video had captured a suicidal woman jumping off a Wisconsin bridge. The jumper was Tina Zahn, and her story was as tragic as her desperate act.

Growing up, Tina was repeatedly sexually abused by her stepfather and subsequently rejected by her own mother. As a young adult, she had two abortions she deeply regretted. When she later married and gave birth to two children, her chance at a normal life was overshadowed not only by the past but also by constant physical pain and extreme postpartum depression.

Though Tina attended church and participated in a Christian support group for young parents, she grew increasingly despondent after the birth of her second child, Noah. She writes in her book, Why I Jumped: My True Story of Postpartum Depression, Dramatic Rescue and Return to Hope, that nine women were praying for her the day she tried to end her life. She says their prayers played a key role in her survival.

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Here is a link to the footage of this event captured by Officer Les Boldt’s dash cam.

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