The lingering presence of an apparently suicidal man on an Interstate 8 bridge in the Midway area Tuesday kept a roughly mile-long stretch of one side of the freeway shut down through the entire morning and into the early afternoon, when he finally was taken into custody.
The man was initially spotted perched on the south side of the span over Sports Arena Boulevard shortly before 7 p.m. Monday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP shut down the eastbound lanes of I-8 between the overpass and the freeway’s terminus in Ocean Beach while police and crisis negotiators tried to
talk the man down.
The westbound side of the interstate remained open during the ordeal.
The stalemate, which led to heavy congestion in the area through the evening and during Tuesday morning’s commute, remained unchanged until just after 1 Tuesday afternoon, when the seemingly distraught man allowed himself to be taken into custody. He was expected to be admitted into a county mental-health center for evaluation and treatment, police said.
The affected stretch of freeway was open again by 1:45 p.m., according to Caltrans.
— City News Service
