Suicidal Falls Jumper Glad to Be Alive
Oct. 27 -- Kirk Jones says he took a dive off Niagara Falls last week because he wanted to die, but after hitting the water with a violent smack, the out-of-work auto parts worker changed his mind.
"Evidently, the currents and the whirlpool effects are so strong down there, that is what kills, of course, most people when they hit that," Jones told ABCNEWS' Good Morning America in a morning show exclusive.
"And at that point, I realized 'wow, I'm not dead. I'm alive.' And all of the thoughts of dying at that point were gone. I wanted to live," Jones said.
Jones, 40, the only person to survive a jump into Niagara Falls without a protective device, says making it out alive last Monday has given him a new outlook on life.
The Canton, Mich., man said his decision to jump came after a battle with depression. He denied reports that he intended to survive the jump and simply wanted to sell the rights to his story afterward.
Before jumping, Jones leaned over the concrete wall that separated the falls from viewers and a woman jokingly asked him if he was going to jump. He said "Yes. I think I am," then jumped over the fence, ran down a hill between the wall and river and jumped in.
Jones said he remembers that the water near the edge of the falls was just a fast-moving sheet of water. He said he recalls gliding along the sheet for about 20 seconds. He says he felt calm, even though he heard people screaming around him. Then Jones reached the steep drop of the falls itself.
When he reached the bottom of the falls, after falling 180 feet, he said it felt like slamming into a table. Jones said he was pushed underwater, and sucked into a whirlpool that spun him around. At one point, he was thrown into a rock, and hit his ribs.
Eventually Jones was able to pull himself up on some rocks and rescuers walked him to safety.
Depressed Over Family Problems
Jones said he became very depressed when his parents were forced to move from Michigan to Oregon after the family auto-parts business failed.
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