Hero saves man from bridge leap
It was just a routine day until Jesse Harrison spotted jumper on Auckland Harbour Bridge
Asecond was all it took for Jesse Harrison to sprint, in jandals, towards the railing of the Auckland Harbour Bridge during rush hour.
The reason: A man who left his vehicle running on the motorway was attempting to climb over the railing, intent on jumping off at the highest point, 43.3m, into the harbour.
Harrison, a 23-year-old gym instructor, told the Weekend Herald how a mundane day took an astonishing turn.
He had been at work in the city followed by a mixed martial arts class on the North Shore at 6pm. It was on his way home about 7.30pm that he ran into a traffic jam on the bridge, which he assumed was a crash.
But as he got closer to the centre of the bridge he noticed a car blocking the leftmost lane. A man began climbing over the rail that separates the road from the bridge edge.
Never being in such a situation before, Harrison just reacted, he said.
“Basically I pulled over straight away, hazards on, and hit the gas on foot.
“I’m in jandals so I’m trying to get there as fast as I can as he makes his way over the edge.”
The two exchanged words, Harrison urged him to consider his loved ones and all of the people he would leave behind.
The man said he had no family but Harrison assured him there was always something worth living for.
By this point, other cars had begun arriving and two men, one a New Zealander, another English, came to his aid and grabbed the man.
Police confirmed they began receiving reports about concern for a person’s wellbeing about 7.30pm.
Despite Harrison being an amateur MMA fighter with 13 bouts, 10 of them wins, under his belt the battle to keep the man from reaching the bridge edge was immense.
If only two people were there to help it may have been a different story.
“I’m grateful those guys were there too because I wouldn’t be able to pull him back myself.”
The trio deliberated and decided they needed to make a move in order to safely remove the man from the railing.
“We’re holding him there for quite a while, we’re talking like 10 minutes, trying to convince him to come back.”
On the count of three, they pulled him over the rail and “held him tight” until the police arrived.
Reflecting on the whole incident he still didn’t know quite how to feel, he said.
It was another human being in crisis that brought three men, who were strangers, together.
Harrison said he hoped the man was now on the road to recovery and would be able to take some value from the experience.
After the incident the man was taken into custody by police and a constable had been in touch with Harrison to check on his welfare, he said.
Harrison wanted to share the story to raise awareness of mental health: “If there’s anything to believe in it’s that there’s always someone to help, no matter what circumstance you’re in.”