Patterns of skeletal trauma in suicidal bridge jumpers: a retrospective study from the southeastern United States

In the discovery of human remains from water environments, manner of death may not be immediately obvious to medicolegal investigators due to several factors, including lack of associated material evidence, nondescript contextual environment, or possible poor preservation of remains due to delayed recovery. The determination of patterns of skeletal trauma in suicidal bridge jumpers assists investigators in determining whether the manner of death was suicide versus non-suicide. This study reports on the patterns of skeletal trauma sustained in individuals who jumped from one of four large bridges in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, and explores victim demographics, bridge height, position of the body upon impact, and velocity at impact on skeletal trauma for this suicide population. Data for all bridge jumpers were collected from coroner files spanning the years 1990-2011. Skeletal trauma is more heavily focused in the thorax/ribs (63%) and craniofacial (30%) regions. Fifty-six percent of jumpers sustained polytrauma. Comparative data on drowning victims, bodies recovered from boating/airplane accidents, and individuals who died by other suicidal means all show patterns of injury different than bridge jumpers.