Thirteen semi-truck drivers helped save the life of a suicidal man threatening to jump from a highway overpass outside Detroit early this morning, working with Michigan State Police to line up their trailers under the bridge and break his fall, Fox 2 Detroit reports.
NOTE: If you or anyone you know is feeling distressed, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, text to 741-741, or call 911. The crisis center is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide confidential support to anyone who needs it.
Just before 1:00 a.m., police in the suburb of Huntington Woods received a call about a man who was preparing to jump off the Coolidge Highway overpass into traffic on I-696 below. Officers with the Huntington Woods Police Department, Oak Woods Public Safety, and the Michigan State Police sprang into action, immediately closing down both sides of I-696 and asking truckers stuck in the ensuing traffic jam to drive ahead and park under the bridge.
As negotiators tried to talk the man down, thirteen semi-trucks slowly filled the space below the overpass until the entire highway was blocked shoulder to shoulder. The drivers sat there for three hours until the man eventually walked off the bridge and was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation.
The episode illustrates a common yet rarely-publicized tactic police use to stop people from jumping or limit their injuries if they fall, an officer with the Huntington Woods Police Department told the Detroit News.
“That’s a practice we use if we have a jumper,” Sgt. Jason Brockdorff said. “We try to do it every time, to lessen the distance someone would travel if they were to jump. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.”
The heartwarming image of these total strangers trying to save a life was captured by a Fox 2 Detroit reporter and shared by the Michigan State Police on Twitter, where it’s being passed around as a prime example of human decency. But as the MSP also notes, it would be even better to never have to see something like this again.
NOTE: If you or anyone you know is feeling distressed, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, text to 741-741, or call 911. The crisis center is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide confidential support to anyone who needs it.