A 41-year-old woman died after she jumped from the Walnut Street Bridge early Friday morning in what police say appeared to be a suicide.
Police arrived at the bridge just after 8 a.m., and witnesses said the woman had been standing on the outside of the bridge railing with her back to the Tennessee River, said Officer Rebecca Royval, a Chattanooga Police Department spokeswoman.
One witness told police she asked the woman if she needed help. The woman said, “You have to let me go,” then let go of the railing and fell into the river, Officer Royval said.
She said the woman’s body was pulled from the river by fire and rescue workers at 8:33 a.m.
The victim has been identified, but her name will not be released until next of kin have been notified, Officer Royval said.
She said the official cause of death is pending until a medical examiner’s report is issued.