In what may have been an attempted copycat suicide, a woman sustained only minor injuries after jumping from the Whitmore Avenue overpass and landing on the shoulder of northbound Highway 99 on Sunday morning.

The incident came just nine days after Jeffrey Scott Stafford, 58, jumped to his death on Highway 99 from the top of the Hatch Road overpass. Stafford hit the pavement and was subsequently struck by numerous vehicles, none of which stopped.

The latest incident occurred at 11:30 a.m. after someone called 911 to report a woman who appeared to be contemplating a jump. A Ceres police officer arrived and saw the woman notice the patrol car and then jumped. She fell approximately 20 to 25 feet but landed on landscaping material. She was able to talk to first-responders who arrived on scene.

Ceres Police Department spokesman Lt. James Yandell said the officer believed that the woman was trying to access the middle of the span but was unable to because of a new fence. She resorted to walking to an area that allowed her to jump.

The woman appeared to be in her 30s or 40s.