A San Luis Obispo man was found dead after he apparently committed suicide by jumping off Cold Spring Canyon Bridge, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department officials said Friday.

Matt Aydelott, 39, who was a teacher at Cuesta College, died Monday, authorities said.

Since the bridge’s construction in 1963, this was the 46th suicide. Aydelott was the third person to jump from the bridge this year, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Alex Tipolt.

The Cold Spring Canyon Bridge spans 1,200 feet on Highway 154 and is more than 200 feet from the ground.

According to the sheriff’s department, a caller told dispatchers around 6 a.m. Monday that a man was sitting on the bridge’s railing. By the time sheriff’s deputies arrived, the man had jumped to his death.

Aydelott, started at Cuesta College in February 2000 as a job developer for the Cal Works and Bridge to Success programs, according to a statement released by Dave Pelham, president of Cuesta College.

Aydelott was then promoted to program supervisor in July 2007, and became responsible for the Independent Living Program, as well as Cal Works and the Bridge Program, said Cuesta spokesman Stephan Gunsaulus.

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“Matt was a great friend. We worked together since I started here eight years ago, and the college was just shocked when we found out,” Gunsaulus said.

Students connected with Aydelott and respected his leadership, Pelham said.

“He will be sincerely missed by all who knew him,” Pelham added.

In May of this year, Caltrans released a draft environmental impact report that proposes raising the existing barrier by 6 feet. The current barrier on the bridge is only 2 feet 7 inches in height.

“There has been a trend of people jumping off state-maintained facilities and we have great responsibility to maintain safety. This is a correctable situation by having this suicide/pedestrian barrier built,” said Caltrans spokesman Jim Shivers.

The Caltrans project has increased in cost since it was proposed in 2005, and 3rd District Supervisor Brooks Firestone said that more and conflicting information on the effectiveness of a physical suicide barrier on the bridge had since come to light.

The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) will hold a public hearing on Oct. 16 on the proposal, but the members stressed that the hearing would not necessarily result in the agency taking a position on the proposed project.

After months of regularly receiving public comment from Marc McGinnes — an opponent of the proposal and member of a group called Friends of the Bridge — the board decided that a hearing would be advisable.

“When this barrier is built it will save lives, improve safety for those considering such an unfortunate action and also improve safety for law enforcement and other motorists,” Shivers said.

Raiza Canelon can be reached at 688-5522, Ext. 6008, or rcanelon@santamariatimes.com.

September 13, 2008