PORT ANGELES — Jim Klarr, a city employee who saved a 15-year-old girl from jumping from one of the Eighth Street bridges, will receive the 2013 Northwest Public Power Association Safety Heroism Award at the organization’s annual Engineering & Operations Conference and Trade Show on April 8.
Klarr, light operations manager for the Public Works & Utilities Department, was on duty at about 11:40 a.m. Aug. 3 when he was driving east on the Eighth Street bridge that spans Tumwater Truck Route.
The girl first swung one leg, then the other, over the railing, according to an eyewitness police report.
Klarr was among about a half-dozen bystanders on the bridge, which is 90 feet above the road.
“Just as her feet hit the edge of the bridge, the male bystander on the east side of the subject, later identified as City Light Operations manager Jim Klarr, in one quick, smooth motion was able to wrap his arms completely around the girl, then lift her up and over the bridge railing and back onto the bridge walkway,” Officer Norm Simons said in the report.
Klarr said in a Dec. 23 Peninsula Daily News interview that the teenager had let go of the bridge before he caught her.
“I know her hands weren’t on the railings,” Klarr said.
At a Dec. 18 City Council meeting, Klarr joined nine emergency-response personnel who received medals in recognition of lifesaving efforts and exceptional service beyond their normal duties.
Scott Lowry, the Northwest Public Power Association’s engineering and operations training manager, said Klarr will receive a plaque during the organization’s weeklong get-together next month.
“It’s one of those things where you happen to be there at the right moment, and you are able to do something to help someone,” Lowry said.
“That’s something I think utility people take pride in.”
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
