The text from Rob Rivard's stepson came at 5:23 one Sunday morning in November.
A 20-year-old student at Pasco-Hernando State College, Chris Machesney was excited about launching a modeling career. Rivard and his wife hadn't seen signs that Machesney was unhappy, but when Rivard read the text that morning, he knew it was meant to be a final goodbye.
Rivard frantically called his stepson's cell phone but never got an answer. He would learn later that a police officer had been alerted to a car parked at the top of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and pulled up to Machesney's Toyota Camry at 5:34 a.m.
By then, the young man was already gone.
"Within eight minutes of him texting me, he jumped," Rivard said.
Machesney was one of 18 people to die by suicide from the Skyway last year, a record number that surpassed the previous high mark of 13 set in 2003 and tied in 2017, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. A 19th person who jumped last year survived the fall.
For years, the Florida Department of Transportation has rejected calls to install netting or fencing to deter jumpers from the iconic bridge. But this week, a department spokeswoman said officials are studying vertical barriers that could be installed along the bridge walls to deter suicide attempts.
In addition, the department is about to install new technology that will detect pedestrians and stopped cars to more quickly alert authorities to a potential jumper.
That's encouraging news for Rivard, who has been lobbying the state to take measures that might have saved his stepson.
"At that moment in their lives, they've made a decision," Rivard said. "You've got to make it hard for them so first responders can get there."
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Originally Posted by snorlax
