Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Alex Cabrero ReportingA Smithfield teen lost his life after jumping off a bridge into water. It was a jump his two friends made just before him, and they were fine.
The old metal bridge in Trenton is a popular place to fish, get down to the water, or especially for teens, to jump off into the water. But tragically, the bridge has now turned into a memorial for 16-year-old Ben Lyman.
It's one of the most peaceful spots in Cache County. But Friday evening that peace was shattered.
"We had about 60 people out there looking for him," Lt. Matt Bilodeau of the Cache County Sheriff's Office says. They were trying to find Ben Lyman after he jumped off the bridge into the Bear River.
"He and two companions were jumping off the lower part of the bridge into the water. The water is 25 to 30 feet deep in that area," Lt. Bilodeau says.
Usually teens jump off from road level. But police say Lyman and his friends jumped from the top of the bridge, adding another 20 feet to the fall.
"He came up, gasped for air, then wasn't seen again."
His body was found underwater about 20 feet from where friends last saw him.
His family visited the bridge today, throwing flowers into the river, remembering him, wondering how and why a tragedy like this could happen.
"You know, Ben was wonderful. He was everything to us. An athlete. He was getting ready for football season," says his grandmother, Barbara Crowley. "I can't see Ben doing anything that wasn't good. He was a good, good boy."
"Yeah, he was good," agrees high school football teammate Garrett Wood. "It just shocked me. Hard to believe it even happened."
The high school football team will meet tomorrow night to talk about what happened and to grieve.
Teens have jumped from that bridge often, but authorities say it has never before ended like this.
