San Rafael Surfer Saved Boy Who Jumped from Golden Gate

The Windsor High School student who survived a jump from the Golden Gate Bridge Thursday morning said he "did it for kicks," the surfer who pulled him from the water said this morning.

Frederic Lecouturier, 55, of San Rafael, said he was beneath the east side of the bridge looking up toward the west when he saw the teen's body fall into the ocean about 25 yards away.

"I said, oh, s---, this guy's dead," Lecouturier said.

The teen has not been identified by the Windsor Unified School District or the California Highway Patrol, but friends on Twitter and Facebook said it is Luhe "Otter" Vilagomez, a 17-year-old junior.

He was among 45 students who were on a school field trip to the de Young Museum in San Francisco. The trip included a walk along the bridge.

The teen jumped around 11 a.m. just south of the South Tower on the San Francisco side of the bridge, the CHP said.

Lecouturier said the teen was about 50 feet from the water when he first saw him.

The teen fell feet first and his knees were slightly buckled when he hit the water, Lecouturier said.

The teen surfaced quickly and began swimming, and a strong south wind might have slowed his fall and enabled him to survive, Lecouturier said.

Lecouturier said he removed the teen's shoes to increase his buoyancy.

"He said he was okay. He said he did it for kicks. I was angry and I went off on him. I said, 'God gave you life and you're playing with it like it's nothing.' He didn't say anything," Lecouturier said.

Lecouturier got the boy onto his 8 feet, 6 inch surfboard and they both paddled toward Fort Point where emergency responders were already waiting, Lecouturier said.

The teen was taken to San Francisco General Hospital. The Windsor school district said he did not suffer severe injuries.

The teen is less than five feet tall and weighs about 120-125 pounds, Lecouturier said.

"He's muscular, fit and light. A 200-pound boy would have drowned," Lecouturier said.

"He's a nice kid but all these kids live in virtual reality. They see people jumping from buildings and bridges and surviving. What was this kid thinking?" said Lecouturier, who is the father of two teens.

"I don't think he wanted to die," Lecouturier said.

When they were near the emergency responders on the shore and away from the 6- to 8-feet waves, Lecouturier said he asked the teen again if he was all right.

"He said, 'not really,'" Lecouturier said.

Bay City News Service