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Maryland State Trooper Prevents Man From Jumping Off Tydings Bridge

CECIL COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) — The heroic efforts of a Maryland State Trooper give another man a second chance at life after he kept him from jumping off the Tydings Bridge. The entire incident was caught on dash camera.

Rochelle Ritchie has more from the trooper and the video of the rescue.

With just seconds to spare, the trooper went into action. The Tydings Bridge sits about 90 feet above the Susquehanna River. It could have been a death drop, not only the victim, but also the trooper.

Every day, Maryland State Trooper Joshua Kim, 24, walks to his vehicle to start his shift. But on August 9 as he crossed the Tydings Bridge on his way to work, he became a hero.

"I was actually on my way to the barrack and I was crossing over the bridge and I happened to notice that there was a white male on the opposite side in the southbound lanes while I was traveling northbound," said Kim.

The trooper says his intuition then kicked in. He made a U-turn--a decision that would save another man's life.

As he was pulling up, Trooper Kim says the man waved at him.

"He put his right leg over the wall and then I jumped out of my vehicle, I ran up to him, I grabbed him while he was putting his left leg over the wall and I brought him back to the safe side, basically," he said.

The trooper says the man kept saying "he doesn't know what he's going to do."

"I actually took him to the hospital myself. We talked a little bit. He told me basically there was a little bit of problems at home. Some health problems as well," Kim said.

Kim says he became a state trooper to help, and that's exactly what he did.

"I was just driving by and I happened to be at the right place at the right time. He was there, and I just did what I was supposed to do. I saved him," Kim said.

The victim was taken to Harford Memorial Hospital. He thanked Trooper Kim for saving his life.

Maryland State Police say the trooper took the proper action in that situation.

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