Officers Stop Man From Throwing Himself Onto Dan Ryan Expressway
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Four Chicago Police officers are in line for life-saving commendations, after talking a man down from a bridge over the Dan Ryan expressway early Tuesday morning.
As WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports, around 1:55 a.m., Central District Alex Conway and Willie Daniels responded to a call of a man threatening to take his own life where Harrison Street crosses over the Dan Ryan Expressway.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports
Podcast
They found a man who had climbed over the protective fencing around the Harrison overpass to the Dan Ryan. He'd had a fight with his girlfriend, and was threatening to end the fight in a very public way Central District Lt. Serafini said.
"He wanted to throw himself on the expressway and into oncoming traffic," said the lieutenant. Police News Affairs Officer Hector Alfaro said the man is in his 30s.
State Police shut down the roadway and called for assistance from the fire department while the distraught man was "hanging precariously," over the highway.
Conway and Daniels got to work using their crisis intervention training.
"They talked to him for about an hour and convinced him to surrender himself," Serafini said. "They talked him off the bridge."
Two other district officers, John Harrison and Dontonio Daniels, assisted in getting the man down and to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for help. All four will be nominated for life-saving awards, said Serafini.
"The officers did a great job, they remained calm and focused on the victim and his plight and were able to utilize their training to convince him to seek professional help," Serafini said.
The northbound lanes of the Dan Ryan were temporarily shut down as emergency crews responded but have reopened as of 3:30 a.m., Illinois State Police District Chicago Master Sgt. Jason LoCoco said.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
