ninehertz

1. • Mazz
   • (From the Classic Rock Website)
     
     So, er… she did. Disc jockey Steve Penk has been slammed by mental health groups after playing the Van Halen hit moments before a suicidal woman leapt from a bridge.
     Penk was in the middle of his breakfast show on 96.2FM The Revolution – the local station for Oldham, Rochdale, Tameside and surrounding areas – when several lanes of the M60 motorway had to be closed because of the incident.
     
     As cops tried to persuade the woman not to do anything stupid, a listener phoned in to request Van Halen’s Jump.
     
     Penk played the song after expressing his sympathy for road users. The woman then jumped from the 30ft bridge.
     
     She only suffered minor injuries but the DJ has been slammed for his actions.
     
     A spokesman for The Samaritans said: “It shows a lack of compassion and understanding.”
     
     Mind said it was in “very poor taste”.
     
     Penk responded: “The entire area had been thrown into total chaos by a single troubled woman.
     
     “If, as has been suggested, the woman jumped because she heard it [the Van halen song] from a passing car radio that’s unfortunate. But I don’t regret playing it for a minute.”
     
     It could have been worse – Penk might have aired Ozzy’s Suicide Solution straight after!
     
   • [10:49 on 19/01/10]

Forums - General Chat - JUMP!