SAN DIEGO - A man who climbed onto a freeway bridge in the Midway area, prompting a nearly 22-hour standoff, jumped but survived after landing on bushes on an embankment below.
The man, described by police as a 35-year-old Hispanic man, was reported to be on the freeway bridge at the Interstate 5 interchange to Interstate 8 at about 2:25 p.m. Thursday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officers initially closed the westbound Interstate 8 at Interstate 5 and southbound Interstate 5 at Interstate 8, according to the CHP.
San Diego Police said the man was uncooperative and refused to come back to a safer location.
Police negotiators tried to persuade the man to get down from the structure, and emergency crews set up an inflatable bag on the roadway below in the event the man jumped or fell.
At about 11:30 a.m., the man jumped from the bridge, landing on a slope below the structure. The man, who did not appear to be seriously injured from the fall, was taken into custody and taken away from the scene in an ambulance.
At about 12:20 p.m., southbound I-5 lanes at SeaWorld Drive were reopened. Northbound I-5 to westbound I-8 was reopened at about 12:15 p.m.
SUICIDE PREVENTION (24-HOUR HOTLINES)
San Diego County Crisis Line: 1-888-724-7240
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
Watch California Highway Patrol discuss the incident here:
