Standoff On Golden Gate Bridge Snarls Traffic, Strands Pedestrians
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - A man with a backpack climbed the south tower of the Golden Gate Bridge Thursday evening, forcing police to shut the sidewalk while a standoff dragged on in heavy fog.
San Francisco police negotiators, the California Highway Patrol, Golden Gate Bridge authorities, and the U.S. Coast Guard arrived on the scene shortly after the first calls began coming in at 6:14 p.m. It was not immediately clear why the man had climbed the structure.
Shortly after that time, the man climbed down, left his bag and went back up the tower. Dense fog prevented officers from locating the man sometime afterward. As of 11 p.m., his location was unknown.
No lanes of traffic lanes were closed off during the incident, but both pedestrian walkways were closed and the police activity caused traffic to slow considerably. The flow had returned to normal around 10 p.m.
Golden Gate Transit shuttles were brought in to help bicyclists and pedestrians cross the bridge.
(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
