Preventative measures considered in wake of jumps

Friday, Oct. 20, 2000 | 11:24 a.m.

Officials at Hoover Dam are considering hiring a suicide specialist to recommend ways to prevent people from using the historic Southern Nevada landmark as the stage to end their lives.

Three people have plunged to their death at the dam since June.

Anything added to the dam, such as suicide barricades, would have to conform to National Historic Register standards and must allow the public as much access to the dam's different levels and views as they have now, said Bob Walsh, spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

"This is a public facility," Walsh said. "But at the same time, we have concerns. It's really a tragedy when something like this happens."

Hoover Dam attracts about 4,500 visitors a day.

The latest suicide occurred Monday, when a 27-year-old Milwaukee man dressed in women's clothing climbed over the waist-high cement wall at the dam's top and plunged more than 400 feet. Lance Binkowski died instantly when he landed on top of an eight-story building at the foot of the dam.

Since its completion in 1936, Walsh said suicides at Hoover Dam number in the 20s - a small amount compared with other landmarks around the country.

San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, which was completed a year after the dam, has logged more than 1,000 deaths, according to the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District. But that number reflects only suicides officials know about and many people believe the actual number is much greater.

New York City's Empire State Building has had more than 30 suicides since it opened in 1931. The latest occurred on Oct. 5, when a 19-year-old Canadian man jumped from the 86th floor observation deck and fell 65 stories to an outcropping on the 21st floor.

About 20 suicides occur at Niagara Falls each year, officials there said.