Family sues over Astoria Bridge suicide

ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) – The family of a woman who jumped off the Astoria Bridge seeks nearly $1 million in a lawsuit filed against Clatsop County’s mental health contractor.

The lawsuit alleges Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare was negligent in not providing an adequate treatment and recovery plan for Carrie Barnhart as her mental health deteriorated.

The suit also names the county, Columbia Memorial Hospital and an emergency room doctor who treated Barnhart before her April 2015 suicide.

Amy Baker, the executive director of Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare, told The Daily Astorian (https://is.gd/S0lgIG ) she can’t comment on litigation but her heart grieves for anyone who loses a relative to suicide.

The newspaper reports Astoria police responded to the woman’s threats of suicide four times in early 2015.

Police pulled her off the bridge one night in April 2015 and brought her to Columbia Memorial, where she was evaluated and then released after a few hours.

Barnhart died the following week. She was 54.