Burnaby Mountie saves distraught man on overpass
A Burnaby RCMP officer and a call taker were being hailed as heroes for preventing a distraught man from jumping off an overpass into highway traffic.
Just before 9 p.m. Thursday, Burnaby Mounties received a frantic call from a man who was desperate and distraught, said a Burnaby RCMP press release. He had decided to kill himself by jumping off an overpass onto the Trans-Canada Highway.
Burnaby RCMP immediately began searching several highway overpasses to find the man and were able to narrow the search by determining which cellphone tower his phone had "pinged" during his call.
Meanwhile, the call taker continued speaking with the man to keep him calm and on the line while officers flooded the area.
While running along the Kensington overpass, a young RCMP constable spotted the man on the older, decommissioned overpass. The man had climbed over the railing and was barely hanging on.
As the officer got close enough to speak with the man, he appeared to be readying himself to jump. The officer grabbed him in a bear hug and pulled him to safety over the guard rail. The man is now recovering in hospital.
"The constable and the call taker will be recognized for their dedication to duty and their actions under extreme pressure which resulted in the preservation of human life," the release said.
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