Man on Bridge Causes Huge Ventura Traffic Jam
Traffic clogged the Ventura Freeway from Camarillo to La Conchita and crept through downtown Ventura for hours Wednesday after police closed down the highway while a distraught man dangled from an overhead railroad trestle.
The highway was shut about 4 p.m. after police responded to a call from a motel owner reporting a man standing on the trestle off Chestnut Street.
Motorists diverted off the freeway caused north-south arteries in Ventura to be gridlocked from Harbor Boulevard to Main Street. Traffic also was backed up on eastbound Highway 33.
An Amtrak train bound for Santa Barbara from San Diego was stopped for hours in Ventura with 75 passengers on board, said spokeswoman Karina VanVeen, while another 350 passengers waited at stations throughout the area.
Police arriving at the trestle found a man pacing on the tracks, Ventura Police Lt. Randy Janes said. He said the highway was closed when the man threatened to jump off the bridge.
The man, propped against a ledge beside the train tracks, accepted water from mental health workers while he dangled over the empty freeway.
He finally left the bridge with police about 8 p.m. and was taken to a Ventura County Mental Health facility. The highway was reopened about 45 minutes later.
The man’s name was not released.
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