San Diego
Traffic on Interstate 5 was stopped in both directions Saturday morning so that a Life Flight helicopter could land to pick up a man who jumped off a pedestrian bridge near the entrance to the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge, San Diego police reported.
The approximately hour-long incident began at about 10 a.m. when Muses Ponce, 24, was spotted on the outside of a pedestrian bridge near Beardsley Street. The foot bridge is enclosed with a chain-link fence, but Ponce had climbed around it and stood near a sign identifying the entrance to the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge.
Ponce, a restaurant worker in Old Town, was described by police as being despondent over his relationship with his girlfriend. Despite the efforts of police and a relative to talk him down, Ponce jumped from a height of about 20 feet.
He landed on his feet. The Life Flight helicopter landed on the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 and transported Ponce to Mercy Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.
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