SV grad dies after leap from bridge
PITTSBURGH — A 2011 Seneca Valley graduate died Sunday night after jumping off the Hot Metal Bridge in Pittsburgh.
Austin Bible, 25, died after jumping off the bridge into the Monongahela River with two other men, who were not injured.
Authorities responded around 8:40 p.m. and found three males in the water. One of the men, later identified as Bible, appeared injured and was having problems swimming to shore, according to Pittsburgh police.
River Rescue officers pulled him onto their boat and began treating him, police said. Bible was taken to the hospital in critical condition and pronounced dead at 9:50 p.m.
Police said the men were not attempting suicide.
Bible lived in Pittsburgh's South Side, but grew up in Cranberry Township and graduated from Seneca Valley Senior High School in 2011.
He was an avid cyclist and recently won for the second time the 2018 Crush the Commonwealth, an informal race from Pittsburgh's Point State Park to Philadelphia's Liberty Bell, according to Crush the Commonwealth.com.
He was also a member of the Full Psych Adventure Team which is a group of athletes who enjoy extreme sports.
Denise Mangangello, Seneca Valley Academy of Choice principal, remembered Bible as an open-minded student who was kind and thoughtful to everyone.
“He was the type of person other students could rely on and trust,” she said.
Jim Lucot, a Seneca Valley social studies teacher who had Bible in class, described him as quiet and “very respectful, very nice.”
Lucot kept in touch with Bible on social media after he graduated and said it seemed like he was blossoming after high school.
“He was a nice, respectful young man,” he said. “I can't say anything but positive things about him. I'm just thinking about his parents.”
Linda Andreassi, Seneca Valley communications director, said the school faculty and administration extend their deepest sympathies to Bible's family and friends.
“We are at a loss to express how saddened we were to hear of his passing, and all of us are thinking of his loved ones during this difficult time,” she said.
Bible went on to earn an associate degree in welding from Wyo Tech in Indiana, Pa.
He worked at La Prima Espresso Co. as a bicycle delivery driver, according to the business's Facebook page. He formerly worked for Pro Bicycle Co. and Jimmy John's of Pittsburgh.
“He was a familiar face in the community and a highly accomplished athlete. He was loved by everyone … Our whole staff is heartbroken. He was an irreplaceable part of the La Prima family,” a post on La Prima Espresso Co's Facebook page read.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office has not yet released a cause of death.
His obituary is on Page 8.
