The Aftermath    

At 5:45pm on 10-13-2005, I jumped from the I94 Hudson bridge into the St Croix River. My buddy Nick video taped the jump from my boat and picked me up as soon as I surfaced.. We began heading North through the channel and within a few minutes we started to hear sirens. "I hope those aren't for me," I said to Nick. As we got closer to shore, the sirens grew thicker. I beached the boat near my car and sirens were screaming everywhere. Nick and I both knew a passerby called 911 on me, thinking it was a suicide attempt. It was then that I decided to call 911 to let everyone know I was ok. I drove to the Holiday gas station and parked off to the side, threw on a hooded sweatshirt, and walked inside with the hood up. I was relieved to see an unfamiliar cashier working. I dialed 911 and a man answered,
"St. Croix County 911 dispatch, this is Brian."
I responded, "Hi Brian, I just jumped off the 94 bridge for a rush and I'm fine. It wasn't a suicide attempt. You need to call the search and rescue off. Seriously."
He demanded, "Who is this?"
"I can't tell you that" I answered just before I hung up the phone.
    While the conversation was taking place, an employee I know walked passed me as he left the back room. After hanging up, I quickly walked out of the gas station and got back into my car. I wasn't really sure what to do at this point. I decided to head back to my boat, wishing this nightmare I had caused would end. Just as I got back to my boat, I figured leaving town would be a better idea. So I headed towards I94. After driving two blocks I realized I wasn't ready for work, which started at 11pm. I pulled a u-turn and went back to the boat which was parked at the beach. I wasn't sure if overnight parking is allowed there, so I moved it across the bay to the Dike. After beaching it, I got ready as fast as I could. The second I put the lock on my door, I looked up to see a Sheriff approaching me. I quickly removed the lock and stashed the camera with the video on it, fearing it would be confiscated. I was a fugitive for maybe an hour and was glad it was about to end. The conversation went something like this.
"Hi." the sheriff said
"Hi." I enthusiastically responded as the adrenaline still pumped.
"Have you been out on the river at all tonight?"
"Yeah, I was just at the beach."
"Where were you before that?"
"Ummm?" I hesitated
"Underneath the 94 bridge?" she assumed
"Yeah." I calmly answered.
"Did you jump from the 94 bridge?"
"Yeah." I replied in the exact same tone.
"You need to step down from the boat please."
I made my way to the front of the boat and down the ladder. I approached her, nervous as hell, knowing I was in pretty big trouble.
"Are you ok?" She asked. Not meaning "physically ok."
    I tried to convince her it was all for a rush, but she didn't believe me. She ended up calling my brother and he convinced her it was all, for the rush. The second person on the scene was a St. Croix County Sheriff named Chris Stuart, (Stu). I met Stu on the river the summer I was living on the Depot. Stu is awesome; we had a few run-ins this summer for jetski violations and he has always been cool to me. He had my back throughout the entire ordeal, even telling the first Sheriff I should be on x-games. Then a few Hudson police officers showed up. I was told by one officer I wasn't allowed to park my boat on the dike at night anymore. They wanted to see what I was wearing and to do a background check. I was escorted to my car by Stu, where my wallet and license were. Stu started to clear out the front seat but I opted to ride in back. Stu offered me beef jerky as I waited to be brought to my car. When we arrived, a background check was performed and I was arrested for disorderly conduct. I was driven straight to the Holiday gas station where the employee I know identified me as the 911 caller. From there, the officer brought me to the St Croix County Jail. I was welcomed by the jailers as "The Jumper." They took fingerprints and mug shot and paid my own bail of $288.  The whole process at the jail took maybe an hour. The officer who brought me in gave me a list of the departments that were dispatched. They were:

-Mn State Patrol
-Lower St.Croix Valley Fire and Rescue (pictured)
-Washington County Sheriff
-Hudson Police Department
-Hudson Fire and Rescue
-Hudson EMS
-St. Croix County Sheriff
-Wisconsin State Patrol.

    A friend of mine was at the boat launch in Hudson while the rescue boats were being launched. According to him, they looked like "the three stooges." I guess they had problems getting the boats in the water and had a hard time starting them Good thing there really wasn't someone in trouble; maybe they needed the practice. I was told the Mn search and rescue helicopter was also dispatched. Five ambulances and two fire trucks were also seen. The highway patrol also scanned the river with binocs from the bridge and from shore.
    I have to go to court on Nov 7th. I've never been in trouble with the law and have no idea what to expect. I was told $10,000 was spent on search and rescue efforts and was warned I may have to pay restitution. The Hudson bridge is federal property, so it'll be interesting to see what happens because of that. There are no signs that warn against jumping off the Hudson bridge. I'll keep the site updated as to what happens next.
 
 

Analogy of what happened... Some guy just moved from a rural area into the cities. One day he picks up sticks around his yard and decides to have a small bonfire, thinking to himself, "this could be illegal since I'm in the cities." He figures there would be no harm burning a couple of sticks. His small fire emits some smoke. A car driving by sees the smoke and calls 911, claiming there is a house on fire. Law enforcement, fire trucks, and other departments are dispatched. By the time they arrive, the fire had burned out. Normally he would be slapped with a small fine, but because such a disruption was caused by the mistaken 911 caller, he was quickly arrested for disorderly conduct. Now he has to go to court and faces restitution charges for the departments that were dispatched.

10-14/ Apoplogized to the Chief of Hudson Police. He granted me permission to keep parking on the dike and said his officers would leave me alone. He enjoyed the video.

10-17/ Today I wrote and hand delivered apology letters to seven of the eight departments that were dispatched. I got a good response from everyone I met. The dispatch lady from the Hudson Fire Department was pretty cool. She said her husband heard I was a professional cliff jumper from Hawaii. Thats funny! My form proves otherwise.

10-18/ After work I drove 150 miles roundtrip to drop off an apology letter to the Wisconsin State Patrol in Eau Claire.

10-19/ Story made front page of the Hudson Star Observer

11-3/ Scott Seroka from Channel 5 news interviewed me regarding the jump.

11-6/ Channel 5 plays interview during the 10:00 news.

11-7/ Was supposed to appear in court at 1:00pm. My Grandma's funeral was in Nebraska at 1:00pm. Sent a fax to the judge at 9:00am from Nebraska requesting it be postponed. My request was denied and a warrant would be issued. I asked them to re-consider. Judge rescheduled for tomorrow at 1:00pm

11-8/ KS95 called this morning and I participated in a live interview at 7:40am. Got to here opinions from a few different callers, including a woman who was in Hudson during the chaos and a 911 dispatcher from Becker.

11-8/ Just got done with my initial appearance. I am being charged with Disorderly Conduct and $500.00 restitution. I was told the amount of restitution would depend upon which departments filed for it. Sweet! Maybe my apology letters helped. I have to go back Nov 30.

11-11/ Les Trent from Inside Edition flew out from New York. We filmed from beneath the bridge and on the bridge where I jumped. A sheriff showed up while we were on the bridge, claiming people were calling 911. I also met the woman who called 911 when I jumped...good times.

1-6/ Had another court appearance today. I was given two offers which I refused. The first offer being 45 days jail. The second was 14 days jail and two years probation.  My next court date is March 21.

2-25/ Received restitution bill from District Attorney. Hudson Police, Fire, and St. Croix Cty Sheriff asking for $714.

3-21/ Had a motion hearing this morning. Plead guilty to disorderly conduct to avoid a trial. I just wanted it to be done. Ordered to pay lump sum of $714 for restitution and a $250 fine for disorderly conduct. Its finally done.