Maryland volunteer EMT comes to aid of woman attempting to commit suicide

A 33-year veteran EMT from the Laurel Rescue Squad saved a woman who was apparently just seconds away from jumping off a bridge. The close call happened in College Park.

It all happened about a mile down the roadway off the Capital Beltway near the I-95 overpass in the College Park-Beltsville area.

A call to a crash quickly became an opportunity to save someone from taking their own life.

With more than three decades on the job, Globerman says Saturday will go down as one he'll remember for life. This was the first time he had encountered a situation like this.

Globerman says he was leaving an accident scene when he found a woman ready to make her last leap from a Prince George's County overpass.

That's when the long-time volunteer lieutenant at the Laurel Rescue Squad stopped -- at the time he was taking a patient with minor injuries to the hospital, but decided to stop because he could tell this was a matter of life or death.

Globerman says he turned to a bystander for help.

"When I tell you, just grab her arm if we have chance," he said to the bystander.

Globerman says the woman seemed distressed. It seemed as though seconds seemed like minutes -- and minutes mattered.

All this happened within a two-hour window. Globerman reportedly arrived on the scene around 3:30 p.m. The woman would only say she "must wait until 5:00 p.m."

"If you think someone is at risk for a suicide attempt ask them about it and don't be afraid to ask the specific questions of do you have a plan, do you have the means to do it," said clinical psychologist, Dr. Gregory Jones.

The scare comes at a time when attention is focused on suicide prevention after two celebrities chef Anthony Bourdain and Designer Kate Spade were found dead -- both from an apparent suicide.

The situation was certainly dire, but the outcome was the best case scenario. The woman is now undergoing a psychiatric evaluation at a nearby hospital.