Thanks to baseball umpire, woman in Pittsburgh is safe

Major League Baseball umpire John Tumpane was walking across the Roberto Clemente bridge in Pittsburgh on Wednesday afternoon when he had to make a split-second decision, because a woman’s life hung in the balance.

She had climbed over the railing and was poised to jump into the Allegheny River.

He rushed to where the woman was and asked what she was doing, according to an account of the event by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

She claimed she just wanted a better view of the river from that side of the railing, but Tumpane hooked his arm around hers. She kept asking him to let her go, but he refused, whispering to a passer-by to call 911.

Soon, others arrived to help. Eventually, she was lifted over the railing and taken to a hospital – but not before Tumpane knelt next to her on the mat she was on and again tried to comfort her.

“You never know what somebody’s day looks like,” Tumpane told the Post-Gazette. “It’s a nice day, everyone’s out for a walk, and somebody’s not having the same day you’re having. I was just glad to help.”

This story was originally published June 28, 2017 at 10:13 PM with the headline "Thanks to baseball umpire, woman in Pittsburgh is safe."