A Texas police officer used some quick thinking and a little ingenuity to help save a teenager who jumped from an overpass Wednesday, WFAA reported.
When a teenage boy looked as if he was going to jump off the overpass on I-20, Arlington Police Department Cpl. Deric Sheriff swung into action, KTVT reported.
Sheriff. a 15-year veteran motorcycle officer, waved down an 18-wheeler and instructed the driver, Dwayne Crawford, to stop underneath the bridge, the television station reported.
"Hey, are you in a big rush?" the officer can be heard on footage from his body cam as he talks with the truck driver.
"Not a super big rush," Crawford said.
I asked if he could pull under the bridge just in case the individual decided to jump," Sheriff told KTVT. "And that's what happened. As soon as the truck driver was able to get under the bridge, the subject jumped off the bridge. Fortunately, the driver was there and (the teen) landed on top of the trailer."
Crawford said he normally does not like to see a police officer approach his cab window, but Wednesday was different.
"He was coming to me," Crawford told WFAA. "He said, 'This guy's going to jump.'"
The boy jumped on top of the rig but he was safe, the television station reported.
"By me being there, I gave him a different option," Crawford told WFAA.
Crawford told KTVT he has lost family members to suicide.
“I’ve had it happen in my family -- loss due to suicide and it’s not a good thing,” Crawford told the television station. “(I) always ask what could I have done. Well, today, I did something. Maybe he can get some help. Maybe he can’t. But today it didn’t happen.”
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