A man was getting mental health help Wednesday after he was talked out of an apparent suicide plan by a deputy in the East County, authorities said.
The man was found standing near the edge of the Greenfield Drive bridge that passes over state Route 67 in unincorporated El Cajon about 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, according to San Diego County sheriff’s Sgt. Dave Martinez.
The deputy from the Santee sheriff’s substation engaged the man in conversation and learned that he was “very upset and wanted to kill himself by jumping off the bridge,” Martinez said in a statement.
After being persuaded to back away from the bridge’s edge, the man was taken to a local hospital for a mental health evaluation.
The highway below the bridge was closed for about a half-hour during the incident.
It was not immediately clear what had the man so upset.
— City News Service