Good Samaritan Survives Jumping Off Bridge to Avoid Vehicle

A Mableton man was seriously injured early Saturday after trying to help a wrecked vehicle on the East-West Connector and then jumping for his life, Smyrna Police said.

According to an incident report by Smyrna Lt. Robert Harvey, a black Saturn Vue SUV was traveling west on the highway just before 2:30 a.m. Saturday when the driver struck the outside lane curb just past the Camp Highland Road intersection. The SUV spun out of control, Harvey said, and struck a guardrail on the north side of the roadway.

The 35-year-old Mableton man, whose name had not been released Saturday afternoon, saw the SUV and stopped to offer assistance. But, as he approached, a white Ford Focus suddenly struck the SUV.

To avoid being hit, the Mableton man decided to jump a bridge barrier. He then fell approximately 37 feet to an abandoned railroad line below.

Lt. Harvey told WSB Channel 2 Action News that the man, labeled a ‘good Samaritan,’ “had to make a choice whether to stay in the roadway or jump over a bridge parapet.”

Despite the fall, an AJC.com story reported that he was able to call 911 on his cell phone.

“He is seriously injured, but obviously conscious and breathing, since he called 911,” Harvey told the station. “It’s a miracle to me.”

Acccording to the AJC report, paramedics walked down a drainage ditch to reach the man, who was taken to Atlanta Medical Center for treatment of broken bones.

The driver of the Saturn, 26-year-old Rozina Lynn Virani of Austell, was charged with DUI and failure to maintain lane and was booked into the Smyrna Jail, Harvey said.