Woman Jumps to
Death from Solomon's Bridge

The Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge leads from the Calvert side of the Patuxent River to the Seven Gables Island area of St. Mary's County.  This view, at left,  is of the Calvert Marine Museum and Back Creek.  Traffic is backed up on the bridge due to a wreck. At right is a view of the Navy pier, basin and Recreation Center.  ST. MARY'S TODAY photo by Natalie Himes

SOLOMON'S ISLAND ---  A Calvert County resident from the St. Leonard area apparently took her own life this evening, reports Calvert County Sheriff Mike Evans.  Sheriff Evans told ST. MARY'S TODAY that the woman jumped from the bridge and fire boats were searching the Patuxent River for her body. "It is unlikely that we will find her tonight but they are out in force looking," said Sheriff Evans.  A Calvert man, Timothy Hoofnagle, a veteran DWI driver, proving that cocaine can help you fly, jumped from about two thirds up the way from the St. Mary's County side about 15 years ago, surviving the jump and swam to Seven Gables Island where he was captured by a police K-9 dog and Trooper Joe Appleby.  The man had led St. Mary's deputies on a high-speed chase while he tossed drugs from his car on Chancellors Run Road.  When he got to the bridge, he jumped rather than face arrest. Sheriff Evans recalls locking up Hoofnagle numerous times for DWI.  Years after surviving his bridge jump, Hoofnagle led police on another chase, all in true Dukes of Hazard fashion. A man attending the annual  St. Mary's College's Governor's Cup Race stopped in traffic in the mid afternoon and jumped in an apparent suicide attempt but also survived when nearby fishermen sped to his rescue.   Jumping at night without good Samaritans present has usually led to recovery of a body at a later date.   Those who have problems and find themselves at their wits end can find someone to talk to at any local church or by calling hotlines (301) 863-6661 at Walden Drug Counseling Center.   How to help someone in your family or a friend who is suicidal How to get help with a mental health problem

Bridge Jumper Who Lived Timothy Hoofnagle, who was fleeing from police is one of at least two persons who survived a jump from the Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge at Solomon's Island.  Hoofnagle, who swam to the Seven Gables Island shoreline, was apprehended by Tfc. Joe Appleby.   ST. MARY'S TODAY photos Hoofnagle swam to this shore on Seven Gables Island.