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Visualizing Suicide

Posted Jul 16, 2009 by Jeff Scullin

Updated Jul 16, 2009 at 05:20 PM

A few months back, we compiled a database of people who had committed suicide from the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The bridge’s iconic status in the region makes it a magnet for people wanting to commit suicide. At least 135 people have jumped from the Sunshine Skyway since the existing bridge opened in 1987, and the bridge has averaged about nine suicides a year for the past decade.

To me, the database is a good tool to use here, mostly because I am captivated by the jumpers’ stories. I can’t forget Donna Klein and Marc Weigel, two teens who jumped in 1993 as part of a lovers’ pact. They took a cab to the bridge, scrawled goodbye messages in lipstick and then jumped to their deaths. Or John Radd, who jumped with his dog in 1998. (The dog survived.)

The San Francisco Chronicle took a different approach. San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge is the world’s No. 1 spot in the world for suicides. More than 1,200 people have jumped from the iconic bridge, an avergae of 19 a year, according to the Chronicle.
The Chronicle developed some interesting visualizations to tell the story of the Golden Gate’s suicides. My favorite is the graphic that charts where on the span suicides have happened.

To check out the Chronicle’s report, go here