Kids, don't try this at home: YouTuber dodges death while "chasing his dream"
Austin, Texas - YouTuber Saa Emmanuel Fomba jumped from the 100-foot Percy V. Pennybacker Jr. bridge in Austin. He was filmed before undergoing medical examination, because the stunt did not occur without consequences.
"Hopefully this video motivates you to chase after your dreams," Saa Emmanuel Fomba explained at the beginning of his 16-minute recording. While driving to the bridge, he said, "I don't see no fun in living a normal life."
He elaborated his views: "You jump or die. Dying after jumping doesn't mean you died. You died chasing your dream." His biggest fear was that someone might call the police. "I do not have money to pay for any fines or tickets," Fomba said.
There was a group of young people near the bridge who could have reported him, so the young man decided to let them in on his life-threatening plan by asking them to film the jump.
He was almost ready for the stunt.
Young YouTuber climbs 100-foot bridge and jumps into the river
Fomba went on to say that people had already jumped into the Colorado River from the roadway, but not from the arch.
After showing the young people how to operate his camera, Saa Emmanuel Fomba proceeded to climb the arch, 100 feet above water level.
Once at the top, the YouTuber gave the young people with the camera a signal that he was ready to jump.
Fomba leaped off the bridge, somersaulting before landing in the river.
It took some time before he resurfaced. When he reappeared, everything seemed to be okay, but he couldn't swim!
A boat rescued him from the water and drove to the shore. Afterwards, Fomba remained prostrate on the ground – until rescue workers arrived.
The video of the bridge jump
Four minutes later in the video, Fomba was finally back in a sitting position – in a hospital!
It was already his third day in the hospital. Fomba explained that he could walk again, but his skull was fractured. He would most likely not suffer permanent damage from his dangerous stunt.
"People are texting me, 'Is it worth it?'" Shaking his head, the young YouTuber concluded, "No one wished to get hurt, but it's always worth it chasing your dreams."
Whether he has learned anything from his misadventure remains to be seen. Hopefully some of his viewers did, though.
Cover photo: Montage: YouTube/SaaFomba