Good Samaritan pulls woman off ledge of overpass bridge in Clay: ‘It’s not worth jumping’

Taggart Good Samaritan

Kaley Taggart, 28, of Syracuse, pulled a suicidal woman from an overpass bridge ledge overlooking I-481 in Clay Friday, July 9, 2021. (Submitted photo)

Clay, N.Y. — A 27-year-old woman considered jumping from the ledge of an overpass bridge in Clay into heavy Interstate 481 traffic Friday night, but was saved by the swift actions of a good Samaritan who stopped to save her.

Kaley Taggart, 28, of Syracuse, said it was fate that she happened to be driving down Morgan Road in Clay when she spotted the woman. Taggart said she was in the middle of making an Instacart delivery.

She said she stopped, pulled her handbrake, jumped out of her car and ran to the woman who later told Taggart she wanted to die after recently dealing with the anniversary of her grandmother’s death.

“I couldn’t believe how calm I was,” Taggart said on Saturday. “All I was thinking was I have to get to this girl.”

Taggart said as she reached the woman, who was standing outside the railing of the bridge, she grabbed her hand. She said she was never going to let it go.

“Whatever is going on, it’s not worth jumping,” she said she told the woman as she held her hand.

Taggart said the woman told her she didn’t know what she was doing and that she was scared to come back over the railing.

“It broke my heart,” Taggart said. “Nobody should feel like that.”

After a few seconds, the woman reached for Taggart. Taggart said she wrapped her arms around the woman so tight that her nails were digging into her own arm.

Taggart said as soon as she got the woman away from the ledge, Onondaga County sheriff’s deputies arrived to help get the woman into an ambulance and to the hospital.

“They couldn’t believe how fast I got her down,” Taggart said of the deputies. “I’ve never been thanked by an officer before. It’s usually just slow down or don’t do that. They all shook my hand multiple times.”

The sheriff’s office thanked Taggart for saving the woman in a Facebook post Friday night.

Taggart said she believes she was meant to save the woman’s life. Taggart said she recognized the signs of a person in crisis because she herself twice attempted suicide. She said her first attempt was in 2016 and her most recent attempt was just four months ago.

“I know what she was going through,” Taggart said. “Everything happens for a reason.”

Taggart, a 2011 Henninger High School graduate, said she has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Taggart said she stayed in the ambulance with the woman she pulled from the overpass bridge Friday night. The two women exchanged phone numbers and plan to meet up to talk about things in the near future, she said.

“I feel I changed this girl’s life,” Taggart said. “I am very happy I was there to help her.”

Are you thinking about suicide? Here’s how to get help

Dial 911 if you are in immediate danger.

1-800-273-8255 National Suicide Prevention Hotline. This toll-free, confidential suicide prevention hotline is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. By dialing 1-800-273-TALK, the call is routed to the nearest crisis center in a national network of more than 150 crisis centers, including Contact Community Services in Syracuse.

Staff writer James McClendon covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? Reach him at 914-204-2815 or jmcclendon@syracuse.com.

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