‘Bachelor’ Suicide: Inside The Fight To Save Gia Allemand's Life
Aug. 20 2013, Published 6:22 a.m. ET
Gia Allemand’s shocking suicide attempt at her home in New Orleans was a frantic situation and one of her neighbors described his harrowing experience when he tried to come to her rescue after hearing her boyfriend cry out for help.
The Bachelor star’s death on August 14, two days after she attempted suicide, was a tragedy experienced by her loved ones and strangers in her apartment building as well.
"I thought I heard someone calling for help, so I sprinted down there," her neighbor Mike Simpson told People magazine, recalling that he had heard a “high-pitched bellowing” sound.
"I pushed the door open and saw a guy bear-hugging someone to his chest."
Gia’s boyfriend, NBA player Ryan Anderson, had just arrived back at her apartment and found her “hanging from a metal staircase by the door,” the magazine reported.
"He said, 'She hung herself,' and I looked over and that's when I saw the rope," Simpson recalled.
Another neighbor rushed into the apartment and handed Simpson the phone and he spoke with the 911 operator.
Gia was lying on the floor unconscious and the 911 operator instructed Simpson to do CPR and a crying Ryan began to do chest compressions on his girlfriend.
"He just kept yelling her name, 'Why, Gia? Why?' Just sobbing," he said about Ryan.