Southbound Highway 101 was shut down near Goleta for about 30 minutes Sunday afternoon following reports of a suicidal man threatening to jump from an overpass.
Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies, firefighters and California Highway Patrol officers were dispatched shortly before 4 p.m. to the Turnpike Road overpass.
The 48-year-old Oxnard man had scaled a fence and crawled out onto a freeway sign on the west side of the overpass, said Kelly Hoover, a sheriff’s spokeswoman.
“The distraught male was sitting on the ledge of the sign supports with a piece of clothing tied around his neck and to the sign support,” Hoover said.
At one point, it appeared the man had passed out, according to emergency radio traffic.
Firefighters used a ladder to reach the man and secure him to the sign, said fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni.
A short time later, a ladder truck from Station 11 was deployed to reach the man, and firefighters guided him down to the ground, Zaniboni said.
“He was transported by American Medical Response to a local hospital for a mental health evaluation,” Hoover said.
His name was not released.
During the incident, the CHP diverted southbound traffic off the freeway and back on at Turnpike, but all lanes were reported reopened by 4:30 p.m.
A similar incident occurred on Aug. 8, and that man also was brought to safety.
No injuries were reported in the incident, Zaniboni said.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.