Talking a woman down off the bridge

We were going to take the Brooklyn Bridge, but my mom was lost again, and we were approaching the Manhattan bridge so I pointed it out and we drove on to it. Brooklyn had graced us with a beautiful African dance performance and now it was time to go home. As we drove across, we each thought of mundane things like going for a jog, or walking the dog later at home. Yet the weather had changed the summer night filled with rain, wind, and lightning-just like a story but this was real. The woman was standing on the edge of the bridge, her hair blowing, hands still grasping the cables. I shouted. "There is a woman there!" Mom said, "I know," thinking I meant something else. So I shouted it again louder, she saw, she gasped, "Oh my god!" I said."Get out, talk to her, your a therapist talk her down." She got out yelling at me to call the police. I called them, they took details, spent time. I got out and approached her, my mom was five feet back from her, didn't want to make her jump by jarring her. She was saying things like 'we'll help you' and 'tell us what's wrong.' There was a man just behind her, I went up next to him and spoke to her, "Please don't! Let us help you, you can talk to us and tell us what's wrong, there's no hurry to do this, tell us what happened." The man asked me if he should grab her wrist, I said "yes." He tried, she said, "Don't touch me," as she turned around and looked at him. She was determined, but more she was lost. I continued to talk to her, as did my mom saying, "We'll help you, with money or a place to stay, whatever you need."A Russian man and a few other men, as they got out of their cars shouted, "It's not worth it!" "Don't do it." She would let go with one hand and our pleading would grow louder. I kept talking, knowing the police were coming. Another man came up behind her, the two of them could together grab one hand each, they asked me and each other, should they grab her, I affirmed "Yes!" And spoke to her to distract her, in unison they each got one hand, grabbed her arms, pulled hard and got her down. My mom, hugged her then, she hugged back. We offered her endearing comments, words, advice, our relief, the whole strangers group of us. I held her on one side, my mom on the other, we walked her to our car and sat down with her. She wouldn't talk, except to say thank you(at first), hi( when mom introduced me by name), and no thank you (when I offered her food). The police called then, they were on their way. Police arrived they took her, in an ambulance, and moved her car from the road. I was shivering, my mom was shaking, she looked warm. I hope that we saved her.