Michigan police went above the call of duty early on Tuesday when they organized more than a dozen semi-trucks under a Detroit freeway to help a man threatening to commit suicide.
The I-696 freeway was temporarily closed when someone reported that a man was on the bridge over the highway just before 1 a.m. local time, Fox 2 reported. Michigan State Police enlisted the help of 13 drivers to form a truck wall under the bridge to shorten the distance of the man’s fall, should he jump.
Michigan State Police spokesman Lt. Mike Shaw told The Detroit News that after traffic was blocked, officers had the detoured truck drivers park under the overpass on both sides of I-696.
State police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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. pic.twitter.com/RBAlCIXT1o
— MSP Metro Detroit (@mspmetrodet) April 24, 2018
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The effort was a success. The man did not jump and instead walked off the bridge, Fox 2 and the Detroit News both reported. Police took him to a local hospital for evaluation, Detroit News said. The road was reopened around 4 a.m. local time.
“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,” Michigan police in a Twitter post alongside a photo from the incident. “Please remember help is available through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.”
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Line at 1-800-273-8255
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