Crime & Safety

Chaplains Offer Support to Witnesses of I-5 Suicide

Police don't know what caused Jacek Baczkowski, 49, to jump to his death Sunday, but those who saw the tragedy unfold say the images are hard to shake.

Christine Stone of San Jose was on her way to Sacramento to pick up her children Sunday afternoon when she saw Washington trucker Jacek Baczkowski from a highway overpass.

At first, she thought the body falling towards I-5 near Laguna Blvd was a dummy—just some kids playing a prank. When she finally realized the truth and pulled over to call 911, she was so shaken she couldn’t remember what exit she was near.

“I kept thinking, 10 minutes ago you were real, and now you’re not,” Stone said of Baczkowski, whose death was ruled a suicide by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. For the next couple of days, Stone said, she experienced phantom pains in the same part of the body where the man had hit the ground.

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Stone is one of who wrote in to say they witnessed the tragedy and couldn’t get it out of their minds. The symptoms are normal in the wake of a traumatic event, said Deputy Senior Chaplain Frank Russell of the Law Enforcement Chaplains of Sacramento—and there is help available.

“Generally these symptoms are short-term rather than chronic,” said Russell.

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Russell and his team of trained stress management counselors help people who have experienced crimes and disasters deal with their feelings.

“We look at the emotions connected to the event and begin to separate those emotions from the event,” said Russell. “We do that by talking about it.”

The free counseling can take place in person or over the phone, Russell said, and while the chaplains are rooted in different religious denominations, they don’t preach.

“At the level where our services are provided, we are not religious,” he said. “It’s really about providing physical and mental care, and spiritual if that ever comes up.”

Russell said anyone interested in talking about what they saw on Sunday can call the nonprofit group’s 24-hour hotline at 916-857-1801, or visit www.sacchaplains.org. Another local group, Volunteers in Victim Assistance, provides similar services.

Sheriff’s deputies who investigated Sunday’s incident said they don’t know why Baczkowski, 49, chose to end his life miles from his home in Federal Way, a working-class suburb of Seattle. California Highway Patrol officers searched his truck for a note or other personal property that would provide a clue, but found none, said sheriff’s department spokesperson Jason Ramos.

“Obviously the why is the big unanswered question,” said Ramos.

A commenter on Elk Grove Patch Wednesday said he was a family friend and that Baczkowski suffered from money problems, but could not be reached for further comment.


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