Brit DJ Plays 'Jump' for Suicidal Woman on Bridge

Mental health charities are blasting UK Radio DJ Steve Penk for playing Van Halen’s “Jump” for a suicidal woman police were trying to talk off a bridge. The woman had caused traffic on the four-lane bridge to come to a dead halt, and one frustrated driver called Penk to suggest the song. Penk cheerfully complied. The woman did indeed jump moments later, though she suffered only minor injuries.

Still, one mental health charity said it was “in very poor taste,” worried that the woman would hear the song from a car stereo below. Another group said it “shows a lack of compassion.” But Penk was unrepentant. “If, as has been suggested, the woman jumped because she heard the song from a passing car radio that's unfortunate,” he said. “But I don’t regret it for a minute.” (More Steve Penk stories.)