Metra Police Save Man from Jumping Off Bridge

A pair of Metra Police officers prevented a despondent man from jumping off a bridge into a railyard, according to the company’s press release.

The incident was recorded on one of the officers’ body cameras.

The man fled his car after driving onto a closed road and into a construction zone. He stood near the bridge railing when Sgt. Will Wright and Officer Andrea Clunie confronted him. The man attempted to jump off the bridge as the officers commanded him to put his hands behind his back for an arrest, but the officers immediately grabbed him and pulled him back.

“I am immensely proud of the job these two officers did in this incident, not only by their quick reactions to pull this individual to safety but also by their positive words to him as they did so,” said Jim Derwinski, Metra CEO, and executive director. “They are outstanding representatives of Metra and the Metra Police Department and they truly embody the spirit of My Metra.”

The incident happened Sept. 15 on the 127th Street bridge over the Metra railyard in Blue Island. The street and the bridge were closed because Metra was rebuilding the road’s crossing with the Metra Electric Blue Island Branch tracks at 127th and Lincoln, just east of the bridge.

Construction was ending for the day around 5:30 p.m. when workers saw an eastbound white Honda Accord go around two signs on 127th that said, “Road Closed,” and drive into the construction zone.

The officers waved at the driver to try to get him to stop but he continued until his car got stuck in the impassable crossing.

The workers then saw the driver get out of the car and walk back the way he had driven, onto the 127th Street bridge. According to the release, the man was crying and saying he was sorry before he attempted to go over the bridge railing. He was arrested and taken to Ingalls Hospital for evaluation after his arrest was processed.