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Man Who Jumped Off Fort Smith Bridge Identified, Authorities Say

FORT SMITH (KFSM) – A man who died after jumping off a Fort Smith bridge into the Arkansas River on Thursday (Aug. 7) has been identified, according to Se...
Bridge

FORT SMITH (KFSM) – A man who died after jumping off a Fort Smith bridge into the Arkansas River on Thursday (Aug. 7) has been identified, according to Sequoyah County Sheriff Ron Lockhart.

The man who jumped was identified as Derrick Griffin, 44, of Fort Smith, authorities said.

A 911 call came in at approximately 5:36 p.m. about a man on the rails of the Garrison Avenue bridge near downtown Fort Smith, according to authorities.

The man was sitting on the rail of the bridge, and the Fort Smith Police Department, Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office and Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Office responded to the incident, authorities said.

When authorities arrived, the man jumped. Eyewitnesses saw the man jump, and the Fort Smith Fire Department used a rescue boat to locate him. When they found him, he was floating face down, Lockhart said.

Rescuers performed CPR, and the man was transported to Sparks Regional Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.

Lockhart said deputies are working the case to determine what happened, but all indications from eyewitnesses appear to peg the situation as a suicide.

The man’s body will be sent to the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s office for an autopsy, according to Lockhart.

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