Two apparent suicide tries forced the closing of two Atlanta area interstates Tuesday, raising concern among officials that media reports are fueling a copycat trend.
The two incidents were the third and fourth times in three months a metro interstate has been closed because of suicide threats.
Police had to briefly close all lanes of I-20 in DeKalb County about 3 p.m. Tuesday when a man who climbed over a safety fence along the Wesley Chapel Road overpass threatened to leap into traffic. Police managed to grab him before he could jump. By late Tuesday night, police had not released his identity. No charges are expected, DeKalb police spokesman Dale Davis said.
In Tuesday's first incident, the Downtown Connector was closed about 90 minutes. A man Atlanta police identified as Marion Anthony, no age or hometown given, climbed onto the edge of the Fair Street bridge at about midnight. Northbound traffic was stopped at Langford Parkway as police negotiators talked to Anthony, who had put a rope around his neck. Police said he was upset over domestic and job issues. After police persuaded him to come down, he was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for psychiatric observation, where he remained Tuesday afternoon.
No charges are expected in that case, said Atlanta police Sgt. Kevin Iosty.
"You'd be hard-pressed to prosecute the guy. He obviously has a mental illness. He had a rope around his neck," he said.
Iosty was reluctant to talk about the case, given the recent number of similar incidents.
"It seems the more publicity they get, the more they want to try it," he said.
Department of Transportation spokesman Bert Brantley said there might be a "copycat syndrome" at work and that while media coverage helps alert motorists about delays, it may play a role in such incidents.
Brantley said Anthony waved to TV cameras and was "obviously cognizant" of their presence.
Many interstate bridges already have protective fences. The DOT will add 150 more to metro overpasses in the next several months, Brantley said, but that will not stop those intent on suicide.
The fences already have begun going up on area overpasses, and the first phase of 30 to 40 fences will cost an estimated $3.5 million, Brantley said.
While fences may deter potential jumpers, Brantley said, "It's more to stop debris and rocks from being thrown over."
A large, inflatable air bag can be placed underneath jumpers, but DeKalb has the only one in metro Atlanta. Concerned it would not reach the scene in time Tuesday, DeKalb police positioned four tractor-trailers under the bridge to break the man's fall if he jumped, Davis said.
"Commanders were thinking outside the box," Davis said. "Those truckers got right underneath him. They were as eager as we were to get the road reopened."
In earlier interstate shutdowns:
? The Downtown Connector overpass at the Fair Street bridge was the site of a similar incident April 7, when a 32-year-old who was upset with his wife threatened to jump, snarling traffic in both directions for more than three hours. Dorian Heard, 32, of southwest Atlanta surrendered and was charged with reckless conduct.
? In Cobb County, Gregory Layne Light, 26, of Powder Springs stood on the edge of the Windy Hill Road bridge over I-75 for more than two hours at midday May 27, prompting officials to close the interstate in both directions for much of the afternoon. He told negotiators he had no job and no money and that everything had gone wrong in his life. When police tried to grab Light, he struggled with officers before falling about 30 feet. He received non-life-threatening injuries in the fall. Cobb police Cpl. Dana Pierce said the incident was still under investigation and that "no charges have been filed so far."
? At 5 a.m. April 12, and without a media spotlight on him, a fifth man, Keith Hudson, 31, jumped to his death from a bridge onto the connector just north of West Peachtree Street. Hudson's sister-in-law, Margaret Reeks, said Hudson suffered from drug abuse and was homeless.
