For a time Wednesday afternoon, traffic on Interstate 90 near Sioux Falls was at a standstill. It was a tense moment that needed a team effort to pull someone back from the brink.

An explanation from Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead came in a press release after the fact. The reason for the traffic snarl was a runaway that was in the area of 471st Avenue and 260th Street which is just north of I-90 Exit 395.

Compounding the situation was that the runaway was described as suicidal. Those fears were realized when the person made their way onto the bridge overpass.

Four Department of Transportation workers who happened to be in the area, witnessed the potential danger and are credited with diverting traffic on the interstate until law enforcement converged. Multiple people attempted to discourage the distraught person from following through, but to no avail.

The subject did jump from the span, but waiting below were workers from the South Dakota Department of Transportation who tried to catch him. Once on the ground the person needed to be restrained by the DOT workers from causing further harm to himself until he could receive medical attention. Eventually the person who jumped was taken to the hospital for treatment. Meanwhile one of the DOT workers was treated for minor injuries at the scene.


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