Person who jumped from Topeka bridge likely didn’t intend fall

Police in Topeka say a teen or man who fell from a bridge Sunday likely didn’t intend to plummet the 25 feet to the ground below.

Instead, he was probably trying to jump across a gap between the northbound and southbound Kansas Avenue bridges in Topeka, according to a report from the Topeka Capital-Journal. But somehow he missed or he mistakenly thought there was something to catch him and landed at Southwest Second and Kansas Avenue, Topeka police Lt. Aaron Jones said.

Authorities responded to the scene around 6:15 p.m. Sunday. The jumper was whisked away in an ambulance about eight minutes later with potentially life-threatening injuries. He is thought to be 17 to 20 years old.

Jones said witnesses who saw the jumper described him as “happy go lucky” before the fall. There’s no indication he intentionally fell off the bridge, Jones said.

This story was originally published July 11, 2017 at 10:56 AM with the headline "Person who jumped from Topeka bridge likely didn’t intend fall."