Suicide is always preventable. If you are having thoughts of suicide or feeling suicidal, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline immediately at 800-273-8255. Counselors are also available to chat at www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org. Remember: You deserve to be supported, and it is never too late to seek help. Speak with someone today.
By Ashley Silver
VIDOR, Texas — Tense video from the Vidor Police Department shows the moment one officer was able to connect with a distraught man, coaxing him from the edge of a busy overpass.
Officers initially received several calls from witnesses stating someone was hanging from a local interstate, according to 12 News Now. Officer Brittany Haley arrived to find a frightened, 20-year-old man leaning over the concrete barrier of the overpass. Haley jumped into action, using background noise to ease herself toward the man as she continued to speak with him.
“I used the sound of the traffic to get closer to him, and I told him I couldn’t hear him, and I just made a connection from there,” Haley told 12 News Now.
Due to the officer’s quick thinking and empathetic nature, the man eventually returned to safety.
“I can tell by what he was saying … by him not jumping and continuing to talk to me … that he wanted to live,” Haley said.
The man was taken to a local hospital and connected with health resources.