GILL — People from across the state gathered at either end of the French King Bridge on Saturday, hoping to draw attention to the ongoing issue of the bridge as a site for suicides and the need for safety barriers.
“There’s a beautiful, acceptable way of preventing that,” said Stacey Hamel, who organized Saturday’s demonstration. “The barriers that are being discussed are attractive.”
Stacey, who lives over an hour away in Oxford, wasn’t familiar with the bridge until 2018 when she received a call from two state troopers about her stepson, U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Bryan Hamel. He was suspected to have jumped from the bridge.
Bryan’s vehicle had been left at the bridge, and police found a set of hand prints on the railing.
After several months of searching, however, his body was never recovered, and he is still considered a missing person.
“I can’t bring my son back,” said Stacey, “but I don’t want other families to go through what my family is going through.”
The state Department of Transportation (MassDOT), which manages the French King Bridge, has made some progress toward installing safety barriers on the bridge, with input and approval from town officials of Gill and Erving.
However, safety improvements planned by the MassDOT have been scheduled, rescheduled and delayed since 2019, to the disappointment of town officials.
Bryan’s sister, Jessica, expressed frustration that funding for the project does not seem to be a priority for MassDOT.
“Every suicide affects 135 people, 135 people who knew that person,” she said. “… There’s overwhelming evidence that suicide prevention barriers (work) — I think it’s something like 80-90 percent of the individuals who are redirected go on to die of natural causes.”
Jessica said it’s not just about the families left behind by individuals who die by suicide, it’s also about the first responders.
“The police departments here have been amazing but they’re not very big, so the same people are continuously coming out for these things,” she said. “I can only imagine what that does to them.”
Kerrie Flynn, who came to the demonstration from Worcester, said if barriers offer someone the extra moment before jumping — a second’s pause — “it seems silly not to have that.”
“We spend money on plenty of other things that are not as important as this,” said Flynn. “Seeing how often it happens out here, it’s amazing nothing’s been done about it.”
Acknowledging the complaints of some locals who say barriers would diminish the view of the Connecticut River, Auburn resident Kendra Korrea said she doesn’t understand how a person could be against this cause.
“Everyone can have their own opinion,” she said. “However, if it’s the view you’re trying to save, there’s a view in every direction.”
Jessica said it took awhile for her and her family to be able to talk about what happened with her brother, but now that they can, they want to make sure it doesn’t happen to someone else.
“My brother was my first best friend,” she said. “Ultimately, I don’t want anybody to feel what I felt.”
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne. Reproter Max Marcus contributed to this report.