A stretch of Interstate 590 southbound was closed to traffic Monday morning, after an apparent suicide that involved a man jumping onto the expressway from the Elmwood Avenue overpass.
The incident occurred around 10:30 a.m., and caused several vehicles to crash near the overpass.
A WXXI News journalist who was driving on I-590 witnessed the incident. The man appeared to have parked his car on the bridge and jumped over the fencing.
Mark O’Donnell, spokesperson for the New York State Police, declined to comment on the nature of the incident, but confirmed that the highway was closed and that traffic was being rerouted.
“Traffic on 590 is closed in the southbound direction due to an incident that occurred on the Elmwood Avenue overpass,” O’Donnell said. “So all traffic is asked to get off at Highland Avenue or take an alternate route.”
The state Department of Transportation website listed the closure on I-590 southbound as being between Interstate 490 and Elmwood Avenue due to “a crash investigation.”
WXXI does not typically report on suicides, but makes exceptions for instances that affect the public.
