Ex-Navy swimmer survives 200-foot bridge plunge - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Ex-Navy swimmer survives 200-foot bridge plunge

NEW YORK — A man who once swam for the U.S. Naval Academy’s water-polo team has survived a terrifying leap from the George Washington Bridge.

Authorities say Adrian Rawn, 28, stopped his car on the lower level of the bridge connecting Manhattan to New Jersey about 11:30 a.m. Friday, then walked to the rail and jumped.

When the fall of more than 200 feet didn’t kill him, he made the long swim to the New Jersey shore.

Witness Gi Yeon Rheem tells the New York Post that the impact shredded Rawn’s clothing, but he pulled himself out of the water without help.

He was hospitalized after the plunge at Hackensack University Medical Center, where he was being treated for serious injuries.

Rawn was on a water-polo team that won a gold medal at the Pan-Am Games.