Jon Bon Jovi has been credited with helping to save the life of a woman who was about to jump from the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge in Nashville, TN. His actions took place on September 10, internationally recognised as World Suicide Prevention Day.
According to reports, the Bon Jovi frontman was filming a video for The People's House – taken from this year's Forever album – on the bridge when he noticed a woman preparing to leap into the Cumberland River below. The singer approached the woman and, aided by a passer-by, was able to convince her to step back over the guard rail to safety.
The Nashville Fire Department and Metro Nashville Police Department thanked Bon Jovi for his actions, with Nashville PD Chief John Drake saying, “It takes all of us to help keep each other safe."
The John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge, which was opened in 1909 – then known as the Sparkman Street Bridge – was renamed after The Tennessean journalist and civil rights advocate John Seigenthaler in 2014. Seigenthaler had been called out to report on a prospective jumper on the bridge in the 1950s, and was able to coax the man to safety.
The bridge has previously been used for a number of video shoots, including Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) by country duo Big & Rich and Dolly Parton's Together You and I.
Jon Bon Jovi created the JBJ Soul Foundation in 2006. It helps provide solutions for homelessness, poverty and hunger for families across the US.
Help and advice is available worldwide for people struggling with suicidal thoughts.
