Standoff Halts Bay Bridge Traffic; Driver Arrested
Traffic has started to move again on the upper deck of the Bay Bridge after officers arrested a man who had stopped his SUV on the Bay Bridge claiming to have explosives and threatening to kill himself.
The ordeal began when CHP officers got a call about a man threatening to commit suicide on the bridge around 6:58 a.m.
"This guy was threatening to blow up the Bay Bridge and now he's standing on the side of the rail and threatening to jump off the bridge," CHP Sgt. Trent Cross said at about 7:45 a.m.
The man had released his teenage daughter during the standoff and she is now safe with authorities.
A man claiming to be the driver of the SUV called local radio station KCBS' Phone Force line during the standoff. KCBS producer Ted Goldberg said the man had told the radio station that he was upset because his wife had been cheating on him and was going to leave him.
San Francisco police responded with a negotiation team and bomb squad, and took the man into custody at about 8 a.m., Chase said.
The SUV was checked for explosives and was deemed safe, and all lanes of westbound traffic reopened around 8:30 a.m., according to the CHP.
The lower deck of the Bay Bridge remained open throughout the standoff, Chase said.
