Man threatens to jump off bridge onto Downtown Connector

By RHONDA COOK

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta police talked down a man threatening to jump off a bridge onto the Downtown Connector within minutes of arriving Wednesday afternoon.

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Phil Skinner, AJC According to people on the scene a man threatened to jump off the Peachtree Street bridge between Ralph McGill and Pine Street onto the Downtown Connector.

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Phil Skinner, AJC The incident closed the North-bound lanes of I-75 and I-85.

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Phil Skinner, AJC An official said the incident ended just before 2 p.m. with the suspect safe.

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He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital to be evaluated.

The man climbed through a hole in the fence that is supposed to keep people from the edge, and police negotiators reached him just before 1:30 p.m., according to Atlanta police spokesman Officer James Polite.

The man was off the ledge by 1:39 p.m.

While the man was on the bridge where Ralph McGill Boulevard crosses the Connector, traffic was blocked on the merged Interstates 75 and 85 on Peachtree Street between Ralph McGill and Pine Street.

Polite said police were not naming the man because he was not charged. The 38-year-old man reportedly told police he was from the Houston area and had been having “some personal issues.”

Traffic was stopped for only about 30 minutes.