A Chicago-Native MLB Umpire Saved A Woman From Jumping Off A Bridge In Pittsburgh

By Stephen Gossett in News on Jun 29, 2017 2:59PM

Roberto Clemente Bridge / Getty Images / Photo: Jared Wickerham

Major League Baseball umpires tend to take a lot of flak for their in-the-moment decisions. That's just the nature of the job. But it's justifiably all kudos and gratitude for the call made by ump John Tumpane after he helped save a woman on the verge of an apparent suicide attempt from jumping off the Roberto Clemente Bridge in Pittsburgh.

Trumpane, a 34-year-old Chicago native, was returning from lunch when spotted the woman climb over a railing on the bridge, at around 3 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He immediately went over, locked arms with the woman and started to talk it out.

"I was thinking, 'God, this has got to be a good ending, not a bad ending,' and held on for dear life," Tumpane later said, according to the Post-Gazette. "She said, 'You don’t care about me.' I said, 'I care.' She said, ‘I just want to end it right now. I want to be in a better place.' I said, 'You’re going to be all right.'"

The full exchange is even more harrowing:

“I just wanted to get a better look of the city from this side,” she replied, according to the umpire’s recollection.

“Oh no,” Tumpane said, hooking his arm around hers. “You don’t want to do that. It’s just as good over here. Let’s go grab some lunch and talk.”

“No, no, no,” she answered. “I’m better off on this side. Just let me go.”

“I’m not going to let you go,” he said. “Let’s talk this out. We’ll get you back over here.”

“No one wants to help me,” she repeated. “Just let me go.”

“No, we’re here to help you.”

“You’ll forget me tomorrow.”

“I’ll never forget you,” he said. “You can have my promise on that.”

Emergency crews soon arrived, after Trumpane told a passer-by to call 911, and the woman was taken away by responding paramedics after Trumpane and others helped restrain her. She was reportedly taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Trumpane said on Wednesday he hopes to reconnect with the woman before he leaves Pittsburgh for his next assignment.