Texas police are hailing a semi truck driver as a hero after he was able to use his truck to break the fall of a suicidal teenager, saving his life.
The incident happened during the morning rush hour on Wednesday, March 27, in Arlington, Texas, according to a report from NBC DFW.
Police arrived on the scene to find a teenager perched on an overpass over I-20 who was threatening to jump onto the interstate below.
As other officers talked to the teen, Arlington Police Corporal Deric Sheriff decided to try to line up several trucks on I-20 under the overpass to “make the fall a lot less traumatic” if he tried to jump.
After seeing only a flatbed and a dump truck, Sheriff says the he spotted a container truck driven by Dwayne Crawford and asked if he was willing to help.
Crawford said that he positioned his truck between two lanes to try to get right underneath where the teen was standing on the bridge — and not a moment too soon. “I was still rolling when he jumped. And as soon as I heard him hit, I looked in my mirror and saw Officer Sheriff waiving his hands,” Crawford said.
Police say that Crawford’s truck broke the teen’s fall and that he was unhurt.
In a Facebook post about the rescue, the Arlington Police Department said, “A special thanks to our commercial drivers who lended a helping hand this morning. We were able to get the teen some help during this crisis intervention.”
You can view police body cam video of he rescue below.
We had some help from a big rig this morning as a teen was contemplating jumping from an overpass. APD Motor Officer Deric Sheriff was instrumental in directing the truck driver before the teen jumped & later landed on the trailer. Excellent crisis intervention to help this teen! pic.twitter.com/qSZwVQG6ef
— Will Johnson (@ArlingtonChief) March 27, 2019