Jon Bon Jovi helps persuade a woman in crisis to come off ledge of a Nashville bridge
Jon Bon Jovi is being praised for helping a woman safely come off the ledge of a bridge in Nashville this week.
The Metro Nashville Police Department tweeted footage of the rescue, which took place on the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge on Tuesday, recognizing the “Livin’ on a Prayer†rocker and his team for their heroics while he was shooting a music video on the bridge.
“A shout out to @jonbonjovi & his team for helping a woman on the Seigenthaler Ped Bridge Tue night,†Police Chief John Drake tweeted. “Bon Jovi helped persuade her to come off the ledge over the Cumberland River to safety.â€
The footage, which has been taken down by YouTube, shows the “You Give Love a Bad Name†singer and a female production assistant approaching a woman who was standing outside the rail on the truss bridge’s outer ledge. While the two spend a few seconds talking with the woman, police and crew members linger nearby. The woman ultimately turns back toward the bridge to face them, and Bon Jovi and his partner help her hoist herself over the rail. Then he and the woman have a long hug.
“It takes all of us to help keep each other safe,†the police chief wrote in his tweet.
A police department spokesperson confirmed to The Times that the woman was taken to a hospital after the incident for evaluation but declined to comment beyond the chief’s statement on X.
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Representatives for Bon Jovi declined to comment out of respect for the private citizen who was having a moment of crisis.
In 2006, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and his wife, Dorothea, founded the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, which helps people in times of crisis. That gave Bon Jovi the training needed to speak to individuals during trying circumstances. The Grammy Award winner happened to be on the pedestrian bridge, which was open to the public on Tuesday, to shoot a music video for the “The People’s House,†a song from his band’s new album “Forever.â€
Incidentally, the bridge, which is in the center of the city and spans the Cumberland River, was renamed in 2014 after late Tennessean editor John Seigenthaler, who, as a reporter, prevented a man from jumping from the bridge in 1954, the Tennessean reported.
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