Teen improving after jumping from bridge

BELFAST – The condition of the teenage boy who tied a rope to his neck and jumped from the Veterans Memorial Bridge on Wednesday has improved.

Police Chief Allen Weaver said that while the 16-year-old Morrill resident remained in critical condition at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, doctors informed the boy’s parents that his situation looks promising.

“He is stable and doing better,” Weaver said Thursday.

Apparently despondent over a failed relationship with a fellow Belfast Area High School classmate, the boy jumped from the bridge Wednesday morning. Passers-by alerted police to the incident and pulled the boy back onto the bridge. Police estimated that the boy hung suspended for a minute before being pulled to safety.

Weaver said police and Belfast Fire Department personnel resuscitated the boy at the scene and rushed him to the hospital. He was then flown by helicopter to Bangor.

The boy hired a taxicab to take him to the home of the girl who had rejected his advances. He left a note indicating that he planned to harm himself, got back into the cab and was dropped off on High Street, a short distance from the bridge.