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Overpass sitter had climbed out of bus
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Northbound lanes of I-85 through midtown Atlanta were shut down for more than an hour Thursday after a woman jumped out a bus window and crossed several lanes of traffic before threatening to jump from an overpass, police said.
The incident began about 8:15 a.m., and ended about 9:30, when police took the woman into custody.
Atlanta police spokesman James Polite said the woman, who appeared to be in her late 40s or early 50s, was on a Greyhound bus that had originated in Nashville.
The bus was in stop-and-go rush hour traffic when the woman went into the Greyhound’s restroom, and then jumped out the restroom window, Polite said.
The woman crossed several lanes of traffic, then straddled the concrete wall along I-85 northbound, on the overpass over the I-75 southbound HOV lane.
Police negotiators were called to the scene, and about 9:30 were able to take the woman, who said she wanted to talk to her daughter and mother, into custody, Polite said. She was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for an examination, but did not appear to be injured.
Polite said a “large collection of empty medication bottles” was found in the woman’s purse. He said reckless conduct charges were pending against the woman, whose identity had not been determined.
Traffic on the northbound Downtown Connector backed up about 8 miles, to Langford Parkway, according to John Stansberry, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.
The southbound HOV lane on I-75 was also shut down while police negotiated with the woman on the bridge overhead.
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