Woman dies after falling from Skyway Bridge to river in apparent suicide

A 54-year-old woman was pronounced dead Monday after she fell about 200 feet from the Skyway Bridge over the Calumet River in an apparent suicide, officials said.

The incident spurred the closure of the northbound Chicago Skyway at Indianapolis Boulevard as police investigated, according to Chicago Police.

 Pollice were called to the bridge about 12:55 p.m. after a vehicle was found abandoned on the bridge.
After they discovered the unoccupied vehicle, police notified the U.S. Coast Guard at Calumet Harbor, said the Coast Guard's officer of the day, Chris Roggy. The Coast Guard's ice rescue team was dispatched, Roggy said.

The bridge is about 200 feet above the surface of the water, which was frozen, Roggy said. Coast Guard officials retrieved the victim from the surface and moved her to the river bank, where Chicago Fire Department paramedics were waiting.


The woman was identified as Karen Lubas, of Whiting, Ind., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the office.