Possible freeway jumper closes traffic on I-5 northbound in Del Mar

The presence of a possibly suicidal man perched on an Interstate 5 overpass near the Del Mar Fairgrounds forced several partial closures of the freeway Friday and then a complete shutdown, tangling traffic for miles from late morning through the afternoon rush hour and into the evening hours.

The California Highway Patrol received a report shortly after 11:30 a.m. Friday that a pedestrian who appeared to be 30 to 40 years old and was carrying a cane was sitting on the edge of the Del Mar Heights Road bridge over Interstate 5’s northbound lanes, hanging on to fencing alongside the span, according to the CHP.

By shortly after noon, the northbound side of the freeway was closed and a crisis negotiator was trying to talk the man off the overpass. Traffic on the interstate turned to gridlock for miles to the south.

As of 2:25 p.m., the man was making his way toward the other end of the bridge, prompting authorities to close the southbound lanes, according to the CHP. About five minutes later, he returned to the eastern side of the overpass, and the CHP reopened the southbound side of the interstate.

At 3:45 p.m., however, the man was crossing over to the western side of the bridge once again, and a short time later the CHP instituted a full closure of the freeway in the area.

The situation remained unresolved as of 6:45 p.m., with the exception of several brief late-afternoon reopenings of one southbound lane, according to San Diego police and the CHP.