Attempted Suicide On The Verrazano Bridge Thwarted

In what seems to be a continuous string of Verrazano Bridge suicides, another attempt was made Monday afternoon.

A Brooklyn man had four-hour standoff with officers as he threatened to jump. He had gotten out of his car on the Staten Island-bound upper level and clung to the bridge cable.

A Cantonese interpreter, Officer Yi Huang from the Fifth Precinct in Manhattan, was brought in to help communicate with the suicidal man.

The two slowly began to build a bond over the place of their birth, Taishan village in China, and several other commonalities.

The officer gathered that the man had “a tremendous amount of personal issues,” according to the New York Post.

The two then discussed their problems. The distraught man spoke of financial troubles and difficulty with his daughter. The officer responded by telling the man of his own home life and assuring him that attending his daughter’s wedding in the future is something he wouldn’t want to miss.

At 4:30 p.m. the man came off the ledge, to the relief of the officer and other rescuers on the scene. He was taken to Staten Island University Hospital North for evaluation.

The Staten Island-bound upper level was closed for the entire duration of the rescue and traffic in both directions was considerably backed up.