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TIMES LEADER/CHRIS ABRAHAM
Friday, February 04, 2000 Page: 1A
Wilkes-Barre firefighters on Thursday participate in the recovery of a woman
who jumped off the Veterans Memorial Bridge onto the ice-covered Susquehanna
River. The firefighter on the ice unloaded an equipment pack, shown at his
feet, and waited for the second firefighter. Maryann Theresa Szczechowicz, 34,
of Slocum Street in Swoyersville, was pronounced dead at 5:05 p.m. by Luzerne
County Chief Deputy Coroner Joe Shaver. Crews arrived at about 4:25 p.m., and
the bridge was closed to traffic. Szczechowicz was face down on the ice in a
pile of snow. As snow swirled during the storm, crews made about a 70-foot
drop to recover the body. When it was determined she was dead, firefighters
strapped the body to a litter and lifted it to the bridge deck. Szczechowicz
had not been seen by her family since 9 a.m. Thursday. Her car was found
parked at the River Commons Building on Pierce Street in Kingston, next to the
bridge, officials said. Luzerne County Deputy Coroner Bill Lisman said the
cause of death is multiple traumatic injuries from the fall. He listed the
manner of death as suicide. He said an autopsy will not be performed.