Jennifer Lee Hashimoto, 35, jumped over railing in Rancho Santa Margarita to avoid traffic and fell 75 feet.

By JOHN McDONALD

The Orange County Register

Jennifer Lee Hashimoto accidentally plunged to her death when she stepped into a void between two traffic-lanes on this bridge

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA – The woman who fell 75 feet to her death when she stepped into a void between two traffic-lane bridges was identified today as Jennifer Lee Hashimoto, the Orange County Sheriff's Department reported.

Hashimoto, 35, fell from the Rancho Santa Margarita Parkway bridge over Trabuco Creek, just east of Alicia Parkway, at about 7 p.m. Sunday, said sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino.

The victim had lived for about 30 days with a childhood friend in Rancho Santa Margarita and the two women had moved her belongings to her new home in Irvine earlier in the day. The two women discovered that some of Hashimoto's clothes had apparently fallen out of the back of the truck they used for the move.

The two retraced their route and Hashimoto discovered the clothing in the fast lane on the westbound side of Rancho Santa Margarita Parkway. They pulled their car to the side and walked back toward the clothing on the unlighted bridge.

In the vicinity of the left-hand turn lane to Alicia Parkway, the pair met with heavy traffic.

Hashimoto was in front of her friend and she jumped over the guardrail, apparently in the belief that there was a solid median between the two lanes of traffic, Amormino said.

There is no median between the eastbound and westbound traffic-lane bridges, just a 75-foot drop to the canyon below. The roommate was unable to find her friend and called for help on her cellular phone.

Submitted on 11/08/2005

Submitted by: attew@earthlink.net
Reference: OC Register 11/7/05

Copyright © 2005 DarwinAwards.com

Greg said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
I'm not impressed with the cut 'n' paste write-up, but there are a number of very stupid steps here which make me think it's worthy of consideration. 1) Parking in a highway sliproad. 2) Walking up the fast lane to collect CLOTHES! 3) Jumping over a guard rail, knowingly on a bridge, without looking! Worthy of consideration, I reckon.

Sheryl said:
Neutral: Other
I'm staying neutral on this one. I think it's the "unlighted bridge" bit that concerns me. She was also new to the area and possibly wasn't aware she was on a bridge. I have to admit walking down a busy highway to retrieve clothes *is* stupid, though.

James said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
I vote definite on this one. "Look Before You Leap" is one of the OLDEST words of wisdom in existence, and yet this woman failed to heed them. If nothing else, she might at least have waited until daylight, or brought a flashlight along. BASIC SMARTS 101, folks...This one's "Grade DA"!

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