Acclaimed "Top Gun" director Tony Scott died on Sunday, Aug. 20, after plummeting to his death from the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro, Calif. He was 68.

Witnesses told police he took the leap without hesitation, according to the Los Angeles Times. They said Scott parked his car on the bridge in the afternoon, got out and then scaled the 8-to 10-foot fence with the clear intention of committing suicide. A suicide note was later found in his office, the Times reported, and police also found a note in Scott's parked car with contact information on it.

Scott received Hollywood recognition most famously for his film "Top Gun," starring Tom Cruise. He later went on to film "Man on Fire" with Denzel Washington, "Enemy of the State" and 2010's "Unstoppable," also with Washington.

The New York Daily News reported that police and Coast Guard had to use sonar equipment to find the director's body in the waters under the bridge. Only three hours after he committed suicide did divers draw out the body from the harbor.

Scott was born in England and with his brother, Ridley, ran the production company Scott Free Productions. According to the New York Times, Scott and his brother were working on a film adaptation of the book "Killing Lincoln," which was set to be released in 2013. They had also just wrapped up a medical thriller for the A&E network called "Coma," starring Ellen Burstyn, set to release in September of this year, the Daily News stated.

Scott won an Emmy award for his work on the television series "The Good Wife" and two International Film Festival awards. With his brother he co-produced the CBS drama along with "NUMB3RS." In 2003 and then again in 2012, he won the PGA award for Television Producer of the Year.

Scott is survived by his wife, Donna, and their two sons.

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Top gun, Tom Cruise