Photo: Tulsa Police Department
Tuesday was a busy day for Tulsa first responders who spent around 7 hours helping a man as he dangled above Interstate 244.
The unidentified man managed to climb up an exit sign around 9 a.m. on Tuesday. Authorities believed the man was going through a mental health crisis.
The freeway underneath the sign as partially shut down as Tulsa firefighters used a cherry picker to get first responders close enough to talk to the man.
"We want to make sure we give them time. We don’t want to rush the situation, and all of our training tells us that we don't rush the situation. We don't rush up, we don’t grab them, or try to pull them down," Tulsa Police Officer Andre Baul told News on 6.
Baul was one of the officers who talked to the man, who may have climbed up the sign because he was worried about legal issues he was facing.
Other officers and first responders went up to talk to the man. However, the person who ultimately convinced the man to climb down was a passerby.
Rick Jewell was watching the situation unfold from nearby railroad tracks when he said his faith urged him to talk to the man. Jewell wasn't able to go up in the cherry picker, but started yelling at the man from down below.
"I just started talking to him and I told him there was more to life than what he was doing and that God loved him. He looked at me and I told him to throw me his cigarettes, he threw me those, I said throw me that rope, he threw me that rope, and I said now get down from there. I said they’re going to help you. He headed down. Simple. It’s crazy. But I also told you what I did for 15 minutes over there before you showed up, I was praying," Jewell told KTUL.
It worked because the man safely climbed down the sign around 4 p.m. and agreed to be taken to a nearby hospital.
This is the second time this month in Tulsa that citizens have helped save a stranger in crisis.
If you or a loved one are going through a mental health crisis, you are not alone. Those who need help in Tulsa can call the COPES hotline at 918-744-4800 while the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is open 24/7 to anyone at 800-273-8255.