A 14-year-old student at Southside Middle School in Manchester died after jumping from the Huse Road overpass onto Interstate 293 on Wednesday afternoon, according to multiple sources who did not want to be named.
Manchester school superintendent Jenn Gillis sent an email to district families Wednesday night that said in part: “It is with deep sadness that we inform you that one of our students has died unexpectedly.”
Gillis wrote that “This loss may raise many emotions, concerns, and questions for our entire school community, especially our students.”
For that reason, counselors from other Manchester schools and the state Disaster Behavior Health Response Team spent Thursday at the school “directly impacted” by the death, district spokesman Andrew Toland said.
“Our focus in the coming days and weeks is to be supportive of our students, families and staff,” said Toland.
According to multiple sources, the student is believed to have been trying to take their own life.
Suicide is a growing risk for teenagers, and help is available for anyone with troubling thoughts. The quickest way to get help is to call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. The Crisis Text Line is also available: text “Hello” to 741741.
The death took place at the Huse Road overpass, which bridges the I-293 highway just east of the Mall of New Hampshire. The bridge has chain-link fencing to prevent people from falling off.
It is a little more than a mile from Southside Middle School.
Emergency dispatch logs showed the person jumped just minutes before 3 p.m. and fell on the eastbound lanes.
The death caused a huge traffic backup in both directions. Within 20 minutes, New Hampshire State Police had opened the high-speed lane for traffic.
But traffic remained snarled for hours. It took authorities about two hours to reopen the entire highway.
State police did not release more information about the incident.
Word of the death quickly spread throughout Manchester.
At Amoskeag Health’s annual breakfast Thursday, board Chairman Christian Scott asked for a moment of silence for a 14-year-old who had died by suicide.
Manchester school officials said parents may have to face the sensitive job of discussing death with their children. They recommended the website FriendsofAine.com as one resource. Help also is available by chat at nh988.com.
