Every time James Saltzman closed his eyes last Wednesday night, he was transported to the scene of a trauma he'd witnessed earlier that day: a badly injured man lying on the pavement after jumping from a Halifax bridge.

Saltzman, who was the first person on the scene, said he was caught off guard when first responders sent him home without checking on his own well-being and now wishes he had spoken up after witnessing something that has left him deeply shaken.

"I was more in shock, not realizing what had happened," said the Dartmouth man. "I felt so helpless."

Saltzman was making his way down Lyle Street around 9 a.m. on his mobility scooter that Wednesday. He was heading toward the water on a road that runs directly under the Macdonald Bridge when he heard horns and voices coming from the deck, though he thought nothing of it.

"I made it about, I don't know, 25 or 30 feet down the road and I heard the bang. And I looked behind me and there was a fella laying out in the street," said Saltzman, his voice shaking and his eyes closed while describing what happened.

Stayed on the scene

Saltzman said he didn't touch the man but stayed by his side and talked to him in an effort to keep him awake for the next seven or eight minutes — the injured man's eyes opening and closing — until police arrived on the scene.

"I mean, I'm human, right?" he said. "The guy is laying at my feet and maybe dying and I'm trying to do what I could."

Saltzman said he backed away from the man once police were on the scene. An officer told Saltzman they didn't need his name and told him to leave, he said.

In the days that followed, Saltzman said he regretted not telling anyone how traumatized he felt. He said he offered to give statements to both the police and the commissionaires who work for the bridge commission, but both declined to talk.

Help available for witnesses

While Halifax Regional Police say officers carry cards with counselling information from their victims services office, none was offered to Saltzman.

Const. John MacLeod said officers are equipped to help bystanders deal with trauma but acknowledged that doesn't always happen.

"It would make sense that someone would speak to him," said MacLeod. "But depending on the circumstances that they [police] had, a tragic event, their focus is mostly going be on the primary care of that individual."

Jean Spicer, a spokesperson for Emergency Health Services, said EHS and 811 — the province's non-emergency health information line — are aware of the trauma that bystanders can witness.

"Paramedics can call for backup to support bystanders," she said.

If a person is in crisis, 811 may refer them to the mental health crisis line.

Saltzman said he's still struggling with the guilt of not being able to help the man more.

"I knew I was supposed to be there. That's the way I felt."

If you are in distress or considering suicide, there are places to turn for support. Nova Scotia's Mental Health Mobile Crisis Team can be reached at (902) 429-8167 or Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868. The Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia also has information about where to find help.