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MADERA - Traffic on Freeway 99 thru Madera came to a standstill Saturday night when a man was found on the dangerous side of the fence on the Yosemite Avenue overpass.

Around 6:30 PM Madera Police received calls from freeway motorists that a man was seen on the south side on the ledge of the overpass threatening to jump onto traffic in the southbound lane.

Madera Police and California Highway Patrol quickly closed off traffic at Cleveland Avenue heading south and Gateway Avenue heading north. The result was traffic at a standstill all the way past Avenue 12 heading north.

At some point the man moved over to the northbound side between the two traffic signs attached to the concrete. With his family camped out near the old Madera County Government Center, a minister that preaches at the Pilot Truck Stop happened along and talked to the man. Madera Police are crediting his work in helping to talk the man down from the overpass. A Catholic priest from St Joachim's Church was also called in to talk to the jumper but was not used.

With large crowds gathering at the Yosemite Avenue and West Sixth Street overpasses, police were able to coax the twenty-one year old Hispanic man to jump into the large safety bags that the Fresno City Fire Department Rescue Team deployed below the overpass a little after 9:00PM. The man was transported by ambulance to the Madera Community Hospital. As required by law in all suicide attempts, the man will be placed on a 72-hour hold while Madera County Mental Health evaluate the man's mental status.  

Police cleared the incident and Freeway 99 was reopened three hours after the incident started.