The kindness of strangers helps a suicidal man; and an abused cat finds a loving home

By John Kelly, Published: March 12 E-mail the writer

I went looking for the Key Bridge good Samaritan. I didn’t find one. I found many.
Last week, I wrote about a man who in February jumped off the Key Bridge. He survived the suicide attempt and is getting good treatment for the mental illness that drove him to such a desperate act. His father wanted to thank the mystery passerby who he was told had grabbed a boat and rescued his son from the freezing water.


Many witnesses contacted me and said they are near certain the man swam out of the water himself. (The man himself has only the fuzziest recollection.)
Though an Arlington County Fire Department spokeswoman told me that someone on a running trail — “an adult male in the military” — had grabbed a kayak, she did say that since the EMT crew was busily involved in patient care, it’s possible the story had become garbled.
The D.C. police report about the incident said the man swam to the shore unaided. I think this in no way diminishes what happened that morning.
I heard from three people who were on the bridge, two in cars, the other walking on the sidewalk. All expressed concern for the man.
I heard from Caleb Jackson, too. The retired D.C. police officer from Upper Marlboro was between takes of an independent Web series that was shooting near a boathouse when he happened to look up and see the man unhesitatingly climb the fence on the Key Bridge and jump off. Caleb rushed toward the water, stopping only to call 911.
When the man emerged, dripping wet, Caleb bundled him in a blanket and led him to his warm SUV to await the ambulance.
A doctor who happened to be running by stopped to check the man’s condition, Caleb said.
“It seemed like everybody who saw him was concerned,” Caleb said. “Everybody tried to do their part.”