Meet Your Neighbor: Wayne Strickland, Prioritizing Suicide Prevention

Wayne Strickland is an outspoken retired firefighter. His persistence in protecting people from bridge suicides has led to tangible changes for the San Diego-Coronado Bridge, and he’s not done yet.

Wayne came to Coronado when he joined the fire department in March of 1967. “I joined the Navy just before I turned 18 and became a firefighter when I was 21. We went to Vietnam in ‘65, and I was a Kitty Cruiser, which was if you joined before you turned 18, you could get off the day before you turned 21. I got out a month before I was 21.”

After graduating from the Navy, Wayne enrolled in San Diego City College, where he studied fire science. When the Coronado Fire Department had an opening, he took the test and was hired. He was in the Coronado Fire Department from 1967 to 1999.

Building a Life in Coronado

While working in the fire department, Strickland put down roots in Coronado. “I love Coronado. I had to work my way up. In 1980, I bought a house here. It was still three times more than in any other place back then. Then in ‘89 I bought a house in the Cays when they were building the last units on the water. In ’93, I bought a motor yacht. I lived on that for seven years from ’93 to ’99, almost 2000.”

“It’s just a beautiful town,” he continues. “I’ve seen so many changes. From having two car dealerships in town to having none. To having boat works and the foreign car auto clinic down on 1st St. The El Cordova garage. To see all the changes in Coronado, I don’t think anything’s bad. The density, they built a lot more houses – big houses. My house was built in 1914, so it’s an oldie but a goodie. We remodeled the heck out of that too.”

In addition to establishing a residence, he also built a family. “I have two sons and a daughter and another two daughters from my wife. I raised them since they were 10 and 12.” Three of their children graduated from Coronado High School.

From the Fire Department to the Bridge Barrier

Wayne’s concern about the bridge and suicide prevention began early on. “While I was in the fire department, when people jumped, the harbor police would bring the boat over with the person. We would transport them to the ER and they would pronounce them dead. I never saved anybody. There are contorted bodies. There are bridge closures happening all the time when someone would take their own life by the bridge. I saw a need and worked kind of through the Facebook group.”

Strickland received a lot of support in the growing Facebook group, which currently stands at about 1,400 members. Beyond the group, Wayne identified and contacted stakeholders that could impact change.

“I met with CalTrans (California Department of Transportation) and they ended up getting more people involved. I met with Scott Peteres and tried to get him involved but I didn’t really get anything done until the pickup truck went over the side into Chicano Park in Barrio Logan [in October 2016].”

Strickland then met with Benjamin Hueso in Barrio Logan, and then worked with him in his office, trying to get him more involved. “He wanted to put up a fence so [vehicles] wouldn’t fall in Barrio Logan. I wanted a fence not only from Barrio Logan, but all the way across the bridge.”

In 2019, Bill 656 was passed, which required CalTrans to do something to stop the bridge suicides, whether it was some kind of fence or a net. “Originally, they put bird spikes on, but those didn’t do anything,” Wayne said.

A Five Year Study

A large scale solution took time and a five year study began. “They wanted the cheapest route with the bird spikes and all that stopped was birds. We still get about 15 to 18 people [annually] that decide to jump, and it hasn’t changed. We need to get something done.”

While there has been a change in the Coronado City Council, Wayne feels just as much support with the new administration as he did with the last. “John Duncan, our current mayor, wants to be more involved and get it done.”

Vertical Cantilevered Net

With the conclusion of the five year study, Wayne posted an update to the Facebook Group:

The contract to build the “vertical cantilevered net” fence was awarded to Myers & Taylor Contractors on December 31, 2024. Unfortunately, the loss of life continues to occur. Wayne wants CalTrans to step up and make the contractors get it done now.

Wayne expressed his frustrations: “Supposedly they’re going to start doing something, but they’re too slow. There’s a design-and-build concept, which they say will go faster, but they’ve had it since January 1, and I don’t see anything up there yet.” Wayne shared that he was informed that the barrier would be completed by 2027.

“It’s the number one suicide bridge in the nation,” Wayne adds. “The Golden Gate was #1, and they put up nets. It can catch the people, but they can still crawl out and go over. You have to have a rescuer come in.”

Real Stories

In Coronado, it can be far too easy to become desensitized to hearing about a jumper. Each of these suicide attempts is a person with a story.

“We had a couple more jumpers last week, and one lady said it was her brother,” said Wayne. “She’s very concerned because the body hasn’t been recovered yet. I told her it takes some time – often three to seven days before the body gets discovered. I said, ‘Keep checking with the coroner and the harbor police. Let them know that it’s your brother and you want to recover the body.’ It’s just sad that it continues. I’ve had friends that have jumped and I’ve got a friend that’s survived.” Wayne says that Mayor Duncan was on the bridge when the woman’s brother jumped. “He was caught on the bridge while traffic was delayed.”

A survival story comes from Steve Bouchard. “Steven shared he survived. He’s very thankful that he survived the jump from the top. He ended up regretting it as soon as his feet left. He still has operations, to this day he has problems. But his life turned around.”

Brad Willis helped tell the story:

Another life Wayne remembers is Angelica Medina. “She was in the Navy, and she was holding Bertha, who was four years old. Bertha likes to think that while her mom’s life was taken, she protected her.”

Staring Into the Eyes of a Miracle: Bridge Jump Survivor, Bertha Loaiza – Coronado Times

Updated Traffic Policies

“The new policy is to open a lane so people can still get across the bridge instead of shutting it all down. … Hopefully, people will be respectful while police are negotiating with the suicidal person,” Wayne shared with the Facebook group after a recent incident.

Wayne acknowledges, “I understand people are inconvenienced by traffic. There are other people who are having emergencies that have to get in and out of Coronado. When the bridge is stopped from these suicide attempts, it affects everybody.”

He continues, “Caltrans is all about moving traffic, and they’re not usually about suicide prevention, but they have a heart. We just need to do it faster. These contractors just need to start.”

“Taking too long to do something is a critical waste of human life.”

Wayne is an unrelenting force for the bridge barrier. Shortly after our interview, he went to the city council meeting to ask for an update. Strickland advises that we’ve “got to keep some pressure on them to make them hurry up and get it done.”

Being a Neighbor

With the heaviness of working to solve the bridge suicides, Strickland continues to find light. “I have a Monday morning bicycling group that I go out with. I was on the Crown City Cyclists before that when I was younger. Now, I have a Monday morning bike ride with a bunch of friends – there are about a dozen of us. The restaurants are great, the people are great, and I just thank God that I’m here to live this paradise.”

“When I retired, we did a three-month motorhome trip and went to Nova Scotia,” he recalls fondly of the adventure. “The rest of the goal was to see all the United States – every state. That’s another seven years of traveling in our big motorhome. Now we have a smaller motor home. We take little trips. We’re still having fun with it.”

Wayne leaves off with, despite the “divisive politics and all that stuff, people just need to be kind and be tolerant of other people’s views. Don’t get upset, and live life, enjoy life! We’re very fortunate.”

Sprinklers at the Shores

“The other thing I’d like to see are the five buildings at the Shores that are not sprinkled; I’d like to see them get sprinkled,” Wayne shares this other mission. “I carried a lady down from the 1730 after I found her unconscious. I gave her my mask and carried her down. She ended up passing away later on from smoke inhalation.”

The older buildings followed the protocol at that time, which did not require the units to be sprinkled. Wayne says regulations have since been updated to mandate sprinklers, but he wants to see that fixed for the older buildings. “That’s something that I believe needs to be retrofitted.”

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