Dramatic new video has been released showing the moment a quick-thinking police officer and a Good Samaritan saved a sleeping man from certain death after he rolled off a bridge in Oklahoma.
The heart-pounding footage, taken from the bodycam of an Oklahoma City Police Department Officer, shows the officer arriving at the scene to check on the man who is lying flat on his back on a concrete guardrail in the morning sun at around 9 a.m. on Nov. 10. The bridge runs over the Oklahoma River and connects Stockyards City Main Street to Oklahoma City via Exchange Avenue.
The officer, identified as Officer Reyes, gets out of his vehicle and walks towards the man who is dressed in a red hoodie and jeans.
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As the officer gets closer, the man can be seen moving his legs before he suddenly turns to his right and slips off the guardrail.
That’s when Reyes springs into action and grabs the man’s hoodie as his feet dangle above the chilly waters below.
A jogger passing by arrives on the scene and helps Reyes grab the man’s arms. The man can be heard groaning aloud as he perilously hangs from the bridge for a few seconds facing outward.
“Hey sir, come on,” Reyes can be heard saying while the Good Samaritan asks, “You all right bud? You all right?”
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They then both pull him to safety by dragging him back over the guardrail and safely onto the bridge.
The Oklahoma City Police Department says that a medical team checked the man and determined he wasn’t hurt.
Oklahoma City Police Msgt. Gary Knight tells News9 that the guardrail is about a foot wide and that there is about a 30-to-40-foot drop to the water below.
“It’s a real hero type thing you see an officer spring into action – save someone’s life with the help of a citizen,” Knight said.
The man assured police he had no intentions of harming himself, and said he was resting when he fell asleep due to the nice weather, according to News9.
Police say that Reyes gave him a ride back to his family and that he is not homeless.
