A 39-year-old female driver set herself on fire , crashed her car on a bridge and then jumped 40 feet to a park below in an apparent suicide attempt , but managed to survive , Oregon police said Thursday . The Eugene woman was being treated for critical injuries at a Portland-area hospital . The woman 's family had recently reported her missing , police spokesman John Hankemeier said . A 911 caller reported Thursday afternoon that a car appeared to be on fire from the inside , with the woman at the wheel driving recklessly , The Register-Guard newspaper reported . Scene : A 39-year-old woman apparently set herself on fire intentionally while behind the wheel of this Hyundai , crashed her car on a bridge and then jumped 40 feet to a park below . She is now in a critical condition . After the car crashed into a bridge guardrail , witnesses told police the woman jumped out — while on fire — and began taking her clothes off as she ran to the edge of the span . Truck drivers tried to put out the flames with fire extinguishers and a female driver who stopped at the scene tried to grab the woman from the edge , but she was still able to jump , police said . ' I am thankful for the witness who helped us piece together what happened and was trying to keep this woman from jumping off a bridge , ' traffic Lt. Doug Mozan said . Mozan praised the female passer-by who attempted to save the woman . 'Her efforts were nothing less than heroic , ' he said . When the car crashed , a piece of its bumper sailed over the bridge , injuring a 40-year-old woman below . Investigation : Police say they were able to piece together the events that lead to the woman being found in a park below this bridge thanks to accounts from witnesses . The pedestrian was treated for minor injuries , police said . The car was still engulfed in flames when police arrived , Mozan said . It appeared an accelerant had been used inside the vehicle . The accident damaged the bridge and traffic was backed up for almost two hours . The fire and crash remain under investigation . ' I believe it was intentionally set on fire but at this point we 're still investigating , ' Mozan told KVAL-TV . ' I think according to witnesses she was spreading some sort of propellant but it 's hard to say what exactly that was . '
Woman , 39 , from Eugene , had been reported missing by her family . Apparently used an accelerant to set herself alight in car . She then crashed on a bridge and jumped off , landing in park 40 feet below . Police say passers-by stopped to help her and put out the fire . She is in a critical condition in hospital .