Andrew George Leech, 24, jumped off the I-94 bridge in Hudson last week for a thrill, and in the process a number of law enforcement agencies responded to the scene to investigate a possible suicide. Photo by Randy Hanson
By Jon Echternacht
echter@rivertowns.net

Andrew George Leech got a bigger response than he bargained for when he jumped off the I-94 Bridge in Hudson last Thursday (Oct. 13) for a thrill.

 
The 24-year-old self-described “adrenalin junkie” didn't think his act would be interpreted as a suicide attempt and was surprised by the reaction of local authorities.
"I don't break the law on purpose," he said during a conversation Monday morning.
"If there would have been a sign forbidding jumping off the bridge, I wouldn't have done it. I never heard that jumping into the water was against the law."
He acknowledged, however, that some people would be ruled by common sense not to jump, but he isn't one of them.
Leech, a native of Maple Grove, Minn., currently lives on his boat at the end of the dike in the St. Croix River. He said a friend videotaped the jump from Leech’s boat below. After the event, Leech got on board and went back to the Hudson boat landing. "I heard the sirens and I went to the Holiday gas station to call and say I was all right. That was about three minutes after the jump," he said.
Leech prepared for the jump by taping his ankles like an athlete. "It was a hard landing," he said.
He lived in Maui, Hawaii, for eight months over the winter where he learned how to jump from high cliffs.
Leech was sorry for all the trouble his thrill seeking caused the law enforcement community. "I have already apologized to Hudson Police Chief Dick Trende," he said, and he plans to write letters of apology to others involved. "I've never been arrested, never been to court," he said.
"It was a fairly costly operation," said Sheriff Dennis Hillstead. "We (sheriff's department) responded along with the Hudson Police Department and Washington County, Minn. We also called in the Hudson Dive team.
Leech was arrested for disorderly conduct. He was booked into the St. Croix County Jail at 7:41 p.m.
The Emergency Communications Center received a call about the jumper at 5:50 p.m. Oct. 13. Hillstead said the dive team was called in because they couldn't immediately find the person who jumped.
"He was located at 6:27 p.m.," the sheriff said. "When he noticed all the activity, he called 911 from the Holiday station at 6:08 p.m. and reported that he was the jumper and he was all right."
Leech faces a court date Nov. 7 and a possible $250 fine if convicted of disorderly conduct and could be ordered to pay restitution for law enforcements involvement. He said he won't be jumping off interstate bridges anymore.
An official at the Minnesota Department of Transportation bridge office in Oakdale said the approximate distance from the water level to the bottom of the beam under the bridge is 65 feet, 7 inches when the water level is at 674.38 feet. He estimated another 10 more feet to the top of bridge so Leech’s leap was about 75 feet.

Jon Echternacht can be reached at echter@rivertowns.net