Metra Cops Stop Man From Jumping Off 127th Street Bridge

BLUE ISLAND, IL -- Two Metra police officers are credited with preventing a despondent man from leaping off a bridge into a rail yard in Blue Island. The dramatic incident was captured on one of the officers’ body camera.

During the late afternoon of Sept. 15, the street and bridge were closed because Metra was rebuilding the road’s crossing with the Metra Electric Blue Island branch tracks at 127th Street and Lincoln, just east of the bridge. As construction was wrapping up for the day at 5:30 p.m., workers saw an eastbound white Honda Accord go around two “roads closed” signs on 127th Street and drive into the construction zone.

Workers waved at the driver to try to get him to stop, but he continued until his car got struck at the impassable crossing. They waved at the driver to try to get him to stop, but he continued until his car got stuck in the impassable crossing. The workers then saw the driver get out of the car and walk back the way he had driven, onto the 127th Street bridge.

The man was standing near the bridge when two Metra officers, Sgt. Will Wright and Officer Andrea Clunie, confronted him, Metra officials said. As the officers were ordering him to place his hands behind his back, so they could arrest him for trespassing, Metra officials said the man climbed over the bridge and tried to jump off. Both officers grabbed him and pulled him back.

“I’m just tired, I’m just so tired,” the man said in the video.

“And we’re going to help you out,” Clunie said. “Nothing is worth taking your life, okay?”

The man could be heard crying and apologizing before he attempted to go over the bridge railing. He was arrested and, after his arrest was processed, taken to Ingalls Hospital for evaluation, Metra officials said.

“I am immensely proud of the job these two officers did in this incident, not only by their quick reactions to pull this individual to safety but also by their positive words to him as they did so,” Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski said in a news release. “They are outstanding representatives of Metra and the Metra Police Department, and they truly embody the spirit of My Metra.”

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. If you or someone you know is in an emergency, Metra encourages you to call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Help is also available at suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

~ Video courtesy of Metra