Elderly St. Petersburg man jumps to death off Sunshine Skyway

ST. PETERSBURG — An elderly man who authorities say had been despondent since the death of his wife about a year ago jumped to his death from the Sunshine Skyway bridge Sunday morning.

Robert Amos Guest, 80, of 2036 Michigan Ave NE, St. Petersburg, was seen by a witness pulling over in his car at the center span of the bridge shortly after 8 a.m., getting out then jumping over the railing, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. His body was recovered by a boater in the area.

Guest is at least the second person to have died this year by leaping from the bridge. In the past 10 years, at least 83 people have ended their lives there.