MIAMI (WSVN) - A man caused traffic on the Palmetto and Dolphin expressways to come to a complete stop after, authorities said, he threatened to jump off an exit ramp, Sunday afternoon.
According to Miami-Dade Police, the man made threats to commit suicide by jumping off the eastbound exit ramp on the Dolphin from southbound 826 in West Miami-Dade, at around 12:30 p.m.
7News cameras captured the bumper-to-bumper traffic on the freeway near Miami International Airport. “It’s been crazy here. Let’s see what happens,” a passenger said.
A 7News viewer sent in a photo showing the man straddling the concrete barrier of the exit ramp.
Another viewer emailed a picture showing stranded passengers out of their vehicles. “I’ve been stuck here for half an hour,” said motorcyclist Alan Abad. “Riding like this is not fun.”
Authorities shut down 826 southtbound and 836 eastbound as negotiators tried to talk the man off the ledge
“My bike is done for the day,” said Abad. “I have to wait it out until they [open] it up so I can go home, I guess.”
The incident lasted nearly four hours, but fortunately it came to a peaceful end. Officials said negotiators calmed the man down, and he was transported to an area hospital to be evaluated. He was not hurt.
Nevertheless, the incident sent many weekend plans off course. “That guy ruined our Sunday. He should have stayed home.” an irate driver screamed from his SUV.
“We’re gonna try to take the back streets and go through the bottom and see if we can get around the traffic,” said driver Raoul Echevarria. “It’s horrible.”
All lanes were later reopened to traffic, but residual congestion lingered in the area for hours.
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