Hoosier952
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That 15 foot clearance was for the old drawbridge.
The new bridge: http://www.kwikbondpolymers.com/route-35-over-shark-river-bridge-belmar-nj/
Ok, so this is the Route 71 bridge in Belmar, which is a short bridge. If you pause at 5 seconds in, you will see the Rt. 35 bridge. It's the huge one up the river. Sarah's car was found on the Rt. 35 bridge. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_42J7ZldAv4
It seems the new bridge has 50' of clearance. Definitely a much higher risk of serious injury if you landed wrong. I think landing feet first would be survivable in most cases or even a nice dive. Head first, no arms above head might end in a concussion . Belly flop would probably present a reasonable risk of internal organ injury.
I'm thinking the waves would break the surface tension of the water and make the impact slightly less dangerous though.
I'm guessing if this was a suicide, it was probably due to drowning. Probably a combination of hypothermia and waves and not the fall itself. But I'm not an expert. I've just jumped from some pretty high places in my younger days.