Dumbarton Bridge Reopens After Jumper Threat
MENLO PARK (CBS 5 / BCN) -- A man who threatened to jump off the Dumbarton Bridge Monday afternoon was safely taken into custody after a two-hour bridge closure that snarled traffic, authorities said.
The California Highway Patrol said it received multiple reports about 2:30 p.m. of a man sitting on the rail of the bridge. A short time later, one of the man's friends also called the CHP and said that the man was going to jump.
Traffic on the bridge was shut down in both directions, and a negotiating team from the Menlo Park Police Department responded to the scene, police spokeswoman Nicole Acker said.
The U.S. Coast Guard also sent out a 25-foot boat from Station San Francisco in case the man jumped.
The negotiating team initially had trouble getting through to the man, who was not allowing them to get closer than 20 feet to him, Acker said.
However, they were eventually able to talk the man off the rail, and he was safely taken into custody at 4:36 p.m., Acker said.
The roadway was reopened as of 4:45 p.m., but the CHP said it still expected major delays on the bridge during the evening commute in the aftermath of the incident.
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