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One study of 100 people who leaped to their deaths from the Golden Gate Bridge found that most died of these types of injuries.

Three other outcomes are even more horrific: Decapitation, dismemberment and drowning.

In one recent case, a woman jumped from the bridge and hit a pylon on her way down. Her right leg sheered off. The Harbor Police reunited it with her body after a lieutenant aboard the USS Tawana noticed both the leg and its owner floating in the bay.

In another recent case, a man hit a pylon as he fell to the water. He lost both forearms and his skull cracked open, expelling his brain.

In some recent cases, autopsies found that Coronado Bridge suicide victims fought to breathe. They were sometimes discovered with froth in their mouths, evidence that they lived long enough to drown.

"Maybe they were incapacitated, and they couldn’t swim if they wanted to. Or the ribs being broken would have decreased their ability to breathe normally," said deputy medical examiner Dr. Jonathan Lucas.

As for the time that passes until death comes, "drowning is not instantaneous," Lucas said. "It can take minutes."

-- RANDY DOTINGA