13 Trucks Set Up A “Safety Net” On The Highway To Stop A Guy From Jumping

A man considered the fall as he observed the traffic from a bridge on Interstate 696 in northern Detroit about midnight on Tuesday, according to the police.

The pictures made it appear as though there was a drop of more than seven meters. According to Fox 2, the individual was still there and thinking about his next move when the first police officers arrived at the Coolidge Highway bridge at around 1 am.

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Negotiators spoke with the man after police closed off the roads beneath the bridge. He was pushed to leave the bridge and get on with his life by them.

According to Fox 2, the highway below was blocked in both directions.

Nothing about any of this was uncommon. Road closures are common practice when someone makes a jumping threat.

However, at some time early on Tuesday morning, as police were still speaking with the man, a semitractor-trailer rig squeaked by the interstate roadblock and came to a stop immediately below him.

One more rig joined it. Another followed by yet another. Viewers began to record as the trucks created a temporary metal safety net beneath the bridge, acting as a sort of bridge to prevent falls.

A lieutenant later told The Associated Press that Michigan State Police were organizing this. Even if it wasn’t the first time they had done so, he noted that it was unusual to see so many volunteers.

There were 13 18-wheelers when the final one arrived beneath the bridge just before dawn. It was only rigs, with their roofs a few feet short of the bridge, from one wall of the freeway to the other.

The AP said that the entire procedure took three to four hours. By the time it was over, the man who had been previously alone with his thoughts had police talking to him on either side of him and a row of truckers keeping watch below, refusing to let him fall.

As a result, the man—whoever he was—walked off the bridge and into a hospital, according to Fox 2.

The 13 trucks and their drivers continued on their route after the police cleared the highway.

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