A 31-year-old Kirkland man jumped off the Highway 520 bridge and died after he was stopped and arrested for suspected driving under the influence early morning, Aug. 17, according to the Washington State Patrol.
A state trooper stopped the man at about 1:37 a.m. while he was traveling eastbound near the west high rise of the bridge. The trooper suspected the man of driving under the influence and placed him in handcuffs, but the man resisted getting into the trooper’s patrol car before intentionally jumping into Lake Washington, according to WSP.
WSP stated that the trooper attempted to grab, hold and prevent the man from falling into the water but was unsuccessful. The man fell about 60 feet into the water.
The right lane of Eastbound SR 520 was closed to investigate the incident. Screenshot taken of a Washington State Department of Transportation video
Seattle Police Department’s harbor unit responded to the incident and retrieved the man from Lake Washington about 42 minutes later. The subject was transported to Harborview Medical Center where medical staff confirmed he died at about 3:26 a.m.
SPD is investigating the incident as requested by WSP.
“This is done to ensure a fair, thorough and transparent investigation is done into this incident,” the WSP wrote in the release.
The right lane of the eastbound 520 bridge was closed for the investigation, but reopened around 8:50 a.m. Friday.
UPDATE: All lanes are back open eastbound SR 520 bridge. Watch for #WSP and IRT still in right shoulder. pic.twitter.com/IHyggHndKU
— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) August 17, 2018
