PITTSBURGH — John Tumpane can’t explain just why he approached the woman Wednesday afternoon as she hopped over the railing of the Roberto Clemente Bridge.

The woman told Tumpane she just wanted to get a better view of the Allegheny River below. The look on her face and the tone of her voice suggested otherwise to Tumpane, a major league baseball umpire who was in town to work the series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Tampa Bay Rays.

So Tumpane, 34, reached for the woman even as she urged him to let her go.

“It was just pure instinct,” Tumpane said. “You hear those kind of stories all the time, different scenarios, people aiding and a situation where I was lucky enough to be there to help and try to think of everything I could do, hanging on to her.

“At times she wanted to go the other way. I was like, ‘not on my watch, please.’ We were just hanging on.”

And saving a life.

Tumpane secured one of her arms. A bystander walked up and grabbed the other while another – Mike Weinman, an employee for the Rays – clutched her legs and pinned them to the railing while Tumpane mouthed to someone in the crowd to call 911.

What followed were chaotic moments of panic, fear and ultimately, grace.

“I couldn’t tell you how long we were waiting for everyone else to get in place,” Tumpane said. “Obviously another power comes into be when you’re hanging on and you know what the alternative is of you letting go and not having other people to help you.”

BRAVES: Right-hander Bartolo Colon, 44, was designated for assignment, one day after dropping to 2-8.

CUBS: Third baseman Kris Bryant said that his swollen right ankle feels “a ton” better and he expects to avoid the 10-day disabled list.

NATIONALS: Shortstop Trea Turner has a broken right wrist after being hit by a pitch, and it’s unclear when he’ll be back in the lineup.

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