Scituate Town Administrator Jim Boudreau says a man died after he was pulled from the water off of Edward Foster Road.
Boudreau says the man was working for Northern Oak Landscape.
“At 2:30 this afternoon, Scituate Emergency Communications received numerous 9-1-1 calls of an adult male who jumped off the Edward Foster bridge and did not resurface,” said Boudreau. “Scituate Police, Fire, and the Harbormaster responded quickly. We actually had fire dive teams training in the harbor, they were on scene within 15 minutes of the original calls.”
The man was located at 3:45 p.m. about 80 feet from the bridge, crews performed CPR and transported him to South Shore Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Plymouth County Dive team was activated and responded to the scene.
“One of his coworkers jumped in the water after him. He was pulled from the water and transported to South Shore Hospital,” said Boudreau. “His condition is not clear at this time.”
Rescue crews from the Coast Guard Station in Point Allerton, Air Station Cape Cod, along with police and fire personnel from Marshfield and Cohasset responded to the scene. Numerous vehicles lined Edward Foster Road, a Coast Guard helicopter circled above the scene.
“It’s a tragic accident,” said Boudreau. “Our thoughts and prayers are obviously with the victims and their families.”
Boudreau says police patrol the area to keep people from jumping off of the bridge. There is a strong current in the area, with water up to 15 feet at high tide, and about eight feet at low tide.
“The water is very cold this time of year. You get hot, you jump in. That cold water hits you, you’re going to cramp up. You’re going to have problems swimming. It saps your strength in a hurry,” said Boudreau. “We urge people to swim where there’s lifeguards, know your limitations, and be safe. But it’s an awful start to the summer.”
From left: Scituate Police Chief Mark Thompson, Town Administrator Jim Boudreau, Harbormaster Stephen Mone, and Fire Chief John Murphy. Photo credit: Lenny Rowe.
