A man stood on a freeway overpass near Detroit early Thursday, threatening to jump. So thirteen tractor-trailers lined up underneath, ready to break his fall. Troopers closed off both directions of Interstate 696 and asked for the truckers’ help, hoping to protect the man in case he fell or jumped. It took about three hours to get the man down from the bridge. In all, 13 trucks packed in tightly under the overpass to minimize the gaps between them. Should the man have fallen it would have been only five or six feet onto the roof of a truck, rather than 14 feet to the cement below.
Michigan State Police say they've been doing this for decades.