Florida

Orlando man looked like he was going to jump. So truckers come to the rescue, FHP says

By Howard Cohen
At least seven semi trucks pull up under a Florida’s Turnpike overpass in Orlando after the Florida Highway Patrol and law enforcement reported that a man was perched above the roadway and looked as if he was about to jump. The trucks lined up to shorten the man’s fall should he jump. He did not, FHP said, and the road was opened on Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 28, 2018.
At least seven semi trucks pull up under a Florida’s Turnpike overpass in Orlando after the Florida Highway Patrol and law enforcement reported that a man was perched above the roadway and looked as if he was about to jump. The trucks lined up to shorten the man’s fall should he jump. He did not, FHP said, and the road was opened on Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 28, 2018. Florida Highway Patrol Orlando

Orlando truckers, perhaps taking a cue from a convoy of Detroit truckers who lined up under a Michigan bridge to help save a suicidal man earlier this year, did the same Tuesday afternoon on Florida’s Turnpike.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a “man in distress” was perched atop an overpass along a stretch of the turnpike in Orlando near Kirkman Road. The man looked like he was trying to jump so as the FHP closed down that stretch of the highway, at least seven semis pulled up under the overpass and parked side by side.

The goal was to “shorten the distance” should the man jump, WESH 2 reported.

As in the Detroit incident, the “distressed man came down on his own,” FHP said in a tweet at 3 p.m., a little over an hour after all the excitement began.

Follow @HowardCohen on Twitter.

This story was originally published August 28, 2018 at 5:50 PM.

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