(CNN) "Jump."

That's the word Kevin Hines heard in his head on September 25, 2000, as he stood on the Golden Gate Bridge. In the midst of a struggle with mental illness, Hines got a running start and leaped over the rail.

"I'm falling head-first, and I immediately recognize that if I hit head-first, I will die," he said recently.

Hines had depression and bipolar disorder and came to the bridge because he thought it would be the easiest way to die. As soon as he cleared the railing, however, a new feeling came over him: regret.

In midair, he maneuvered himself so that his legs would hit the water first.

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