The northbound lanes of Highway 101 through Santa Barbara were shut down briefly on Friday afternoon when a woman threatened to jump from the Las Positas Road overpass, according to the Santa Barbara Police Department.
Emergency personnel were dispatched at about 3:30 p.m. after some passersby discovered the woman on outside of the safety fence on the south side of the overpass, Sgt. Bryan Jensen said.
By the time the first officers arrived at the scene, a good Samaritan had climbed out onto the ledge with the woman, and was holding on to her wrist, trying to dissuade her from jumping, Jensen said.
He added that she had not yet made it over the freeway lanes.
“One of the officers established rapport with suicidal subject, who came off the ledge under her own power,” Jensen said.
The freeway was shut down for about 10 minutes, with traffic diverted off at Pueblo Street.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
The woman was transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for evaluation, Jensen 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.