N. Strabane police officer grabs suicidal man from I-79 bridge
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A North Strabane Township police officer grabbed a suicidal man who was sitting on the wall of the bridge that takes Interstate 79 over South Central Avenue in Canonsburg Sunday morning and pull him to safety.
Officer Jonathan Miles said he heard Canonsburg police get dispatched about 11:30 a.m. to a home for a report of a suicidal man.
“We had dealt with him before, including last week, so I started looking for him,” Miles said Sunday. “I checked Boone Avenue, but no one was around.”
Miles then heard police getting sent for a report of a man jumping in front of cars on the interstate.
“I was getting on I-79 northbound when I heard the call and acknowledged it,” Miles said. “I drove past him. He was not wearing a shirt or shoes, just shorts.”
Miles said he turned around his cruiser.
“He was sitting on the ledge of the overpass over South Central, facing traffic,” Miles said. “I tried to talk to him nonaggressively. As I got closer, he told me he had been in the hospital and showed me his wrist with the hospital band.”
“I asked him to let me see it,” the officer added. “As he looked down at it, I grabbed him by the other arm because it was closer and pulled him off the ledge.”
Miles and Canonsburg police Officer James Saeiva, who arrived at the scene, took him into custody and placed him in handcuffs.
Canonsburg police Chief Al Coghill said his department has received several calls about this same person making similar threats over the last month. The 30-year-old was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for evaluation.
This is the second time this month a person was threatening to commit suicide by jumping onto the highway. On July 13, township police were called to Canon-Mac Alumni Bridge that takes Boone Avenue over I-79 for a report of a man hanging off the bridge. When police arrived, they found a 31-year-old Canonsburg man standing on the concrete wall along the walkway. He complied with the request by the officer to step off the wall. He also was taken to the hospital for evaluation.