John Tumpane is more than an umpire. He’s a hero.
Umpires take a lot of heat for their calls – they get boos and jeers from angered sports fans on a regular basis.
But John Tumpane is an exception. He’s received a lot of praise for literally saving someone’s life.
The 34-year-old Major League Baseball (MLB) umpire stopped a woman from jumping off a bridge Wednesday according to a story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Tumpane grabbed her after she went over the railing of the Roberto Clemento Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pensylvania. The bridge runs over the Allegheny river.
« You’ll forget me tomorrow, » she told him later on.
« I’ll never forget you, » Tumpane said. « You can have my promise on that. »
The woman tried to break his grip at one point, and put both her feet over the edge of the bridge. But Tumpane continued holding on.
« I was thinking, ‘God, this has got to be a good ending, not a bad ending, ‘ and held on for dear life, » he said. « She said, ‘You don’t care about me.’ I said, ‘I care.' »
Tumpane told someone to call 911.
Two others jumped in to help, holding the woman’s arms and ankles.
A firetruck, police boat, helicopter, and ambulance all finally came and the woman was pulled to safety.
« All these people are here. Look at all these people who want to help you. We’re all here for the right reasons. We want to get you better, » Tumpane recalls telling her.
« I told her ‘I didn’t forget her, and we’d be here, and she’s better off on this side than the other side.' » Tumpane said. « I just want her to know that. »
Tumpane says he had the chance to pray with her before paramedics took her away in an ambulance.
The woman was identified by a city official as a 23-year-old from Munhall, Pennsylvania.
The bridge is less than a mile from PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Tumpane helped officiate a game between the Pirates and the Tampa Bay Rays there later that night.
(Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
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