St. Petersburg man, Craig Crider, dies after jumping off Sunshine Skyway Bridge
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) detectives are investigating a suicide from the Skyway Bridge that occurred Monday morning , February 24, 2014 at approximately 8:55 a.m.
Image/Kelly C. Cook
According to the HCSO, St. Petersburg man, 47-year-old Craig Crider drove his vehicle to the center span of the bridge and parked his car.
Witnesses say that Crider then exited the vehicle, walked over to the rail and jumped over.
His body was recovered from the waters and taken to the Medical Examiner’s Office.
The Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge connects connects St. Petersburg in Pinellas County and Terra Ceia in Manatee County, Florida, passing through Hillsborough County waters.
According to a Wikipedia entry, based compilations from various media reports as of 2009, at least 207 people have committed suicide by jumping from the center span into the waters of Tampa Bay since the opening of the new bridge in 1987, and an estimated 34 others have tried, but survived.
Another 51 people ended their lives from the old Sunshine Skyway from 1954 to 1987.
