Suicide Threat Messing Up Rail Commuters in South County

If you thought you were going to take a train south of Laguna Niguel tonight, think again:

Authorities have stopped roadway and train traffic near the northbound 73 Toll Road as they try to talk down a man threatening to jump from an overpass at Camino Capistrano, Sheriff’s Department officials said.

Deputies about 4:10 p.m. responded to reports of a man on the overpass, Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Stu Greenberg said.

Nearby train tracks and streets have been blocked as the Sheriff Department’s crisis negotiation team attempts to talk to the man, Greenberg said.

The northbound 5 transition to the northbound 73 has been closed, according to California Highway Patrol logs.

From the Laguna Niguel Patch:

A 45-year-old man threatening to jump from the 73 tollway overpass at Camino Capistrano in Laguna Niguel was sitting at the edge of a support beam rocking back and forth on his knees with a bottle of Jack Daniels in his hands.

High spaces and Jack Daniels, not a good combo.

UPDATE:

Trains and traffic were moving again Thursday morning after an apparently suicidal man came down from a freeway overpass after a 12-hour standoff with sheriff’s deputies.


The 45-year-old man was taken to Mission Hospital in Laguna Beach for a mental-health evaluation....


The man surrendered to authorities shortly after 4 a.m., Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Jim England said. He did not have details about what prompted the man to come down, and did not know whether he would face any charges.


Lanes on the 73 were re-opened this morning, the California Highway Patrol reported. O.C. Line trains to Los Angeles were departing as scheduled from Laguna Niguel, according to Metrolink, but buses were still shuttling passengers between Oceanside and Laguna Niguel.