Nov 7, 2009 1:59 pm US/Eastern
Former Navy Swimmer Jumps From GW Bridge, Lives
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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 28-year-old Adrian Rawn stopped his car on the lower level of the bridge connecting Manhattan to New Jersey at about 11:30 a.m. on 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.
The bridge's lower level opened on August 29, 1962.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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