Truck drivers in Detroit in the US are being hailed as heroes after they assisted Michigan State Police to help a man who was contemplating taking his own life.
13 semi truck drivers lined up underneath a busy highway overpass where a man was threatening to jump at around 1am on April 24.
This is the moment the last semi truck pulled in to help the man who was considering suicide this morning on 696. More photos: https://t.co/PZ1Hb0LItY pic.twitter.com/sA4KhFHkku
— FOX 2 Detroit (@FOX2News) April 24, 2018
When Michigan State Police (MSP) received the call about the unnamed man, they closed all lanes on the highway and began organising the trucks.
The lorries were parked there for four hours as police talked to the man and were eventually able to persuade him to walk off the bridge.
The man was taken by local police to hospital for evaluation.
The purpose of the lorries is to shorten the fall should the man decide to jump.
This selfless act by truckers on 696 is fantastic. The 13 truckers all banded together to help shorten the fall for a man who was considering suicide. MORE: https://t.co/PZ1Hb0LItY pic.twitter.com/q9lwPzBM7i
— FOX 2 Detroit (@FOX2News) April 24, 2018
The method is something that MSP have been employing for 23 years.
Speaking to Fox Detroit, Lt Mike Shaw said: "We know that usually if someone jumps from that height it's usually not going to be a good outcome.
"We will actually steal semi trucks out of the crowd and as we get the cars off the freeway we will direct the semis to another trooper that's standing underneath the bridge and we will start to line them up right across.
"They want to help out too. Nobody wants to see somebody take their own life and if it takes parking your truck underneath an overpass for a couple of hours to make sure somebody's is safe, they're more than willing to do something like that."
While many are praising the unique idea, Lt Shaw says that what he wants people to take away from the incident is that "there are so many other options for help".