Jay R. Jordan Houston Chronicle
ARLINGTON, Texas ā A truck driver minding his own business might have saved the life of a suicidal teenager in dramatic video released by police in North Texas.
On Wednesday morning, police in Arlington received a 911 call reporting that a teenage boy was threatening to jump off an overpass along Interstate 20 near Kelly Elliot Road, the police department said in a Facebook post. When officers arrived, they found the teen straddling the overpass barriers threatening to jump, police said.
Acting quickly, Arlington Police Department Corporal Deric Sheriff flagged down a passing trucker on the highway and enlisted him to park underneath the overpass, so if the teen were to jump, he would land on the trailer.
The officer planned on getting more trailers to line up underneath the bridge, but just as the first truck pulled underneath the bridge, video shows the teen jumping to the top of the trailer. Police said he was uninjured.
“A special thanks to our commercial drivers who (lent) a helping hand this morning,” the police department posted. “We were able to get the teen some help during this crisis intervention.”
We had some help from a big rig this morning as a teen was contemplating jumping from an overpass. APD Motor Officer Deric Sheriff was instrumental in directing the truck driver before the teen jumped & later landed on the trailer. Excellent crisis intervention to help this teen! pic.twitter.com/qSZwVQG6ef
ā Will Johnson (@ArlingtonChief) March 27, 2019
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