DelDOT Equipment Operator Saves Distraught Man

Awarded Employee of the Year 2008

Wilmington -- The Department of Transportation (DelDOT) is honored to name an equipment operator from Wilmington as an Employee of the Year for 2008. His heroic efforts May 26, 2008, saved a man from a suicide attempt.

As Bill Skinner, an equipment operator with DelDOT, was performing a routine Motorist Assistance Patrol (MAP) of I-495 last Memorial Day, he noticed a vehicle that was parked on the southbound side of the bridge over the Christina River in Wilmington.

DelDOT's MAP program assists stranded motorists with flat tires or dead batteries when they have their hazard lights on, indicating that they need help. The car on the I-495 bridge did not have its flashers on and its owner, "John Doe," was nervously chewing on a toothpick and pacing back and forth.

Skinner, a nine-year DelDOT Maintenance & Operations employee, pulled over to the shoulder, which is only a few feet wide. The bridge holds three lanes of traffic in each direction going at least the speed limit of 65 mph. The distraught driver was not only putting himself in danger but also drivers approaching the crest of the bridge.

"I asked him the normal questions, 'Why are you here and what's the problem?'" Skinner said. "He told me his wife kicked him out. He had thoughts of suicide. He shed a few tears."

John Doe was continuing to anxiously walk between the lane of traffic and the bridge wall. Skinner said he thought the man was either going to jump off the bridge into the river several stories below or into oncoming traffic as it raced by.

Skinner, who lives with his wife and children in Wilmington, said he talked to the distressed man about how his family would miss him if he went through with it.

"My mission was to talk him out of it and get him off that bridge," he said. "I told him about my family and how they would feel or react if I was in his situation. Basically, I asked him if it was really worth it to go through with what he was trying to do or keep living his life."

Unbeknownst to the distraught man, Skinner called his supervisor, Chris Marsh, at DelDOT's Transportation Management Center (TMC), and asked him to call the State Police. After John Doe got into his car and left the bridge, Skinner followed him until police met up with them.

"I don't think anyone who knows Bill would be surprised," said Chesapeake City, Md. resident Mike Farnan, Skinner's co-worker at a DelDOT equipment yard along I-95. "He's been a mentor to everyone. He's the go-to guy."

"You can talk to him about your problems," said William Gemignani, an equipment operator who lives in Pike Creek. "He's like a big brother. He helps whether it's the guy committing suicide or if you're just having a bad day."

Skinner, more commonly referred to as "Skin," hadn't told anyone about the May 2008 incident - not his co-workers nor his family - until DelDOT announced that he was an Employee of the Year.

Marsh, a TMC Shift Supervisor, said he was proud of how calm Skinner remained during the incident but he added that MAP staffers are dedicated to helping those in need.

"The patrollers just want to do the job and be out there for the people," Marsh said.