Gerrards Cross man dies after Dartford Bridge plunge (From Bucks Free Press)

Gerrards Cross man dies after Dartford Bridge plunge

10:42am Wednesday 13th March 2013 in News By Neil Phillips

A MAN from the Gerrards Cross area has died after plunging from the Dartford Bridge into the River Thames after police spent hours trying to negotiate with him.

Trained officers were in contact with the 42-year-old man for four hours before he jumped from the QE II bridge at around 3pm on Sunday.

A lifeboat carried the man to a waiting ambulance on the shore but he was later prounounced dead at Darent Valley Hospital. The North West Kent coroner’s office has not released further details of the man at this time.

Essex Police said the man had pulled up in lane one before climbing over safety barriers on the bridge, standing on the other side and threatening to jump into the river.

A statement from the force said: “Police officers, including trained negotiators, spent several hours talking to the man trying to get him to come back over the barrier. At 3pm he walked to the apex of the bridge and plunged into the river.

“He was recovered by a lifeboat and was taken to an ambulance waiting nearby before being transported to Darenth Valley Hospital in Kent.”

Police also confirmed to the BFP that the incident had also been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission – a matter of standard practice after a death following contact with the police.

The Dartford Bridge, which was shut at 11am that morning, was re-opened at around 6pm the same day.

During the seven-hour bridge closure, motorists travelling on the M25 clockwise from Essex into Kent were diverted through the west bore of the tunnel.

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