On January 14, 1981, while on duty with the Delaware State Police, Corporal Robert Bell saw a young man preparing to commit suicide by jumping off the Cranston Heights Bridge in Wilmington.
He intervened and pulled the young man to safety but, eventually, lost his own life because of the incident. Twelve years later, on September 6, 1993, Corporal Bell died from complications of A.I.D.S.,
received from a blood transfusion, a result of surgery for injuries he sustained in the heroic rescue.
- Thursday April 7, 2011 1330 hours -
- Legislative Hall Dover -
Line-of-Duty Recognition for Late
Delaware State Police Corporal Robert H. Bell
Cpl. Robert H. Bell was remembered by the state legislators for his act of bravery in saving a young man from committing suicide. It ultimately cost him his life.
A plaque was unveiled at legislative hall on April 7th at 1330 hrs. It will be placed on the Cranston Heights bridge, Route 2 Kirkwood Highway.
The presentation will include passage of a House Joint Resolution to honor a Delaware State Police Trooper who died in 1993 as the result of injuries he sustained in 1981 while rescuing a suicide victim.
Because the circumstances of his death were not publicly known at the time of his death, Corporal Robert Bell never received the special recognition normally bestowed upon an officer following a line of duty death.
State Representatives Mike Ramone and Deborah Hudson and State Senators Patricia Blevins and Karen Peterson will be joined by the family of the late Delaware State Police Corporal Robert H. Bell in the unveiling
of a plaque that will be placed on the walkway of the bridge in New Castle County where the officer sustained the injuries that ultimately took his life 17 years ago.
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