Utah State Trooper Saves Man's Life, Keeps Him From Jumping Off Overpass

A Utah Highway Patrol trooper saved a man from jumping from an overpass on Tuesday, reported Deseret News.

Utah Highway Patrol Cpl. Andrew Battenfield credits the adrenaline rush kicking in. He said, "You deal with what's important at the moment. And getting ahold of him was all I could do."

Battenfield grabbed him as he was trying to jump from a freeway overpass on I-15 around 1:30 p.m. and held onto him as tight as he could until help arrived.

"You do not want to do this," the trooper yelled as the man tried to get out of his arms.

Other drivers saw the incident and helped the trooper pull the man away from the edge.

Battenfield said, "I was in the right place at the right time. I don't know how much longer I could have held on to him."

He explained that he had hoped to just be able to get out and talk to the man, but by the time he got there, the man was already straddling the edge of the bridge.

Battenfield said, "I have never had this type of experience."

He said his training as a trooper helped. He said, "Mentally I was prepared for a situation like this."

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Photo: Getty Images