Bridge safety bill signed into law

OLYMPIA – Signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday, House Bill 1004 aims to deter bridge jumping by installing signs on or near bridges that provide information about the dangers of jumping from bridges and cold-water shock drowning.

“These signs are meant to provide more information than just a ‘no jumping’ sign so that people can better understand the hazards related to a particular location,” the bill states.

HB 1004, also known as Zack’s Law, was prefiled for introduction on Dec. 5. The bill was sponsored by Reps Peter Abbarno (R-Centralia), Ed Orcutt (R-Kalama), Liz Berry (D-Queen Anne), Tarra Simmons (D-Bremerton), Jenny Graham (R-Spokane), Suzanne Schmidt (R-Spokane Valley), Leonard Christian (R-Spokane Valley), Debra Lekanoff (D-Bow), Dan Griffey (R-Allyn), Mary Dye (R-Pomeroy), Mark Klicker (R-Walla Walla), Sharon Wylie (D-Vancouver), Greg Cheney (R-Battle Ground), Lauren Davis (D-Shoreline) and Marcus Riccelli (D-Spokane).

On March 7, the bill passed the House 95-0 and also passed the senate March 31, 48-0. The bill has been signed by both the speaker of the house and the president of the senate, and was signed by Governor Jay Inslee on Thursday.

The bill aims to deter jumping by installing signs on or near bridges that provide information about cold-water shock drowning, which caused the death of Zachary Lee Rager. The Centralia resident died after jumping off a bridge on March 23, 2021. The bill was requested by Rager’s friends and family along with the Chehalis community, the bill states.

The bill states that Rager jumped off a bridge in a location he had jumped from many times before during the summer months. However, this time, the water and conditions were different than earlier in the year which led to his passing.

“Cold-water shock drowning can occur when the water temperature is below 70 degrees Fahrenheit,” Section 2.3 of the bill states. “The temperature difference when a body is submerged in the colder water leads to involuntary gasping, inhalation of water, loss of mobility, and loss of consciousness. The ability to hold one's breath is substantially reduced to seconds rather than minutes. Many people may underestimate the conditions on a sunny and warm day, like Zachary Lee Rager did, and a sign that waters may still be too cold for swimming and facts about cold-water shock drowning could prevent future deaths.”

The bill also states signs with information on the hazard of cold-water shock that leads to drowning are encouraged to be installed in locations where people might otherwise think a location is safe for swimming and may include the statewide 988 suicide prevention hotline.

The bill also requires the Washington State Parks and Recreation commission to install a sign in memory of Rager on or near the bridge on the Willapa trail that crosses the Chehalis River near old highway 603 providing information about the hazards of cold-water shock related to diving or jumping off the bridge on or before January 1, 2024.

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