Michigan State Police were able to bring a suicidal man to safety, thanks to the help of 13 civilians. These individuals took time out of their day and risked their property to help save the life of a perfect stranger.
The Michigan State Police rallied together 13 semi trucks underneath an underpass to catch the man in case he jumped.
The Michigan State Police got a call Tuesday morning about a man who threatened suicide. The call came in around 1 a.m. of a report that an unarmed suicidal man was on a bridge over the highway.
The police immediately shut down the eastbound lanes of traffic on I-696 in Detroit. They then found some semi trucks to line up underneath the bridge.
The police then closed down the westbound lanes.
They found some more trucks to lineup under the bridge in opposite directions. The I-696 ended up being closed in both directions from Coolidge.
In total, 13 semi trucks came together to help this man. They all parked under the underpass to reduce the distance the man would fall from the bridge if he jumped.
Instead of falling to the ground and risking serious injury, the man would have fallen on the top of the truck.
The Michigan State Police were credited with coming up with the clever idea to line up the trucks under the bridge. Luckily, the trucks weren’t needed.
Michigan State Police, as well as the Huntington Woods and Oak Park police, were all on the scene and worked together with negotiators to talk the man down.
After several hours, the situation ended peacefully and the man ended up not jumping and walked off the bridge.
Maybe he realized that he is cared for and that his life does have value for since there were so many people going out of their way to make sure he lived. The Huntington Woods Police then took the man to Beaumont Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
Highway 696 was reopened in both directions around 4 a.m.
The MSP Metro Detroit posted a photo of the semi truck line-up on social media asking those who may be in distress to seek professional help.
“This photo does show the work troopers and local officers do to serve the public. But also in that photo is a man struggling with the decision to take his own life. Please remember help is available through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.”
Learn more about this story in the video below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
