SAN ANTONIO – A man who police said was probably having a mental health crisis was hit and killed Tuesday morning by an 18-wheeler after he jumped off a downtown overpass, San Antonio police said.
Officer Chris Ramos, a police spokesman, said that officers were flagged down by motorists who reported that a man was walking and waving a large stick and had a bottle in his hand in the area of Interstate 35 and Brooklyn Avenue.
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When officers approached him, the man waved the stick and threw the beer bottle at them, Ramos said.
Fearing the man was mentally challenged and in crisis, officers decided to block off the street and called for crisis negotiators and a mental health team.
Moments later, the man jumped off the overpass and onto traffic below, where he was struck by the tractor-trailer, Ramos said.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ramos said officers don’t know why the man jumped.
The lower level of I-35 at Brooklyn Avenue will be shut down for at least a couple of hours while officers investigate.
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