Officials said the 45-year-old woman stopped her car at the mid-span of the bridge, climbed over the rail and tried to jump. But a quick-thinking driver didn't hesitate to help

Trooper Brandy Kessler said the man was driving by when he saw the woman on the edge of the railing. He stopped, got out of his car and grabbed her before she fell.

Two other women driving by stopped and rushed over to help hold the woman until firefighters arrived with rope gear to pull the woman back up over the edge.

"A lot of people would have just driven by and thought that... her car broke down," Kessler said. "These folks actually stopped to take the time to see what was going on and they saved this woman's life."

Michelle Smith was driving on the bridge and was one of the people who stopped to help.

"I think we're all given an opportunity to make a change in someone's life. It was the right thing to do," she said.

"We just started talking to her and I told her how much she was actually loved. She could not believe that complete strangers would love somebody. We soon found out that she was a mother of three and she was losing her house to foreclosure."

Smith and the other two people had to hold the woman for about 30 minutes until rescuers were able to get their equipment in place, Kessler said.

Columbia Bank has set up a donation fund for the distressed woman. Anyone wishing to donate to the family can do so at any Columbia Bank branch under the name HOPE FUND.