Woman Jumps from Beverly Hills High Rise

A woman in her 50s jumped to her death Wednesday from the top of a 15-story building in Beverly Hills where she was a patient in a medical office, a city official said.

Police and firefighters responded about 7 a.m. to reports of a "despondent, unclothed woman" on the roof of 414 Camden Drive, Beverly Hills Public Information Manager Therese Kosterman said.

Crisis negotiators tried to talk her down, but she jumped shortly after 10 a.m., police said. She was taken to a hospital where she was declared dead, Kosterman said.

"I don't know why she jumped," Beverly Hills police Sgt. Dave Hamel told City News Service. "It's a real shame."

Police and firefighters closed several streets around the building and set up air bags provided by the Los Angeles Fire Department, who assisted their Beverly Hills colleagues.

The Los Angeles Fire Department also sent 22 personnel to fulfill a request for assistance from the Beverly Hills department.

"We sent three companies of an engine and a ladder truck and an extra engine because they have the air cushions Beverly Hills needed," Katherine Main of the LAFD said.

"We also sent an engine and paramedic company to cover a Beverly Hills fire station while all of the Beverly Hills fire companies were assigned to the incident."

The woman's name was being withheld until her next of kin could be notified.

Police reopened streets in the area by about 11 a.m.

It was unclear how the woman got onto the roof.