Hwy 29 Reopens After Daylong Negotiations With Possible Jumper

NAPA VALLEY, CA — UPDATED: A person who threatened to jump from the state Highway 29 overpass on Trancas Street in Napa was off the bridge around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday after an all-day crisis, according to Napa police. Police said the subject was safe, and both directions of the freeway, in addition to Trancas Street and Redwood Road, were clear and open to traffic as of 9:30 p.m.

Crisis negotiators were communicating with the person on the overpass for nearly 15 hours, as the initial call and freeway closure started around 5:30 a.m., according to Napa police Capt. Jennifer Gonzales.

Emergency personnel and road crews helped direct traffic in the area around the closure, Gonzales said.

PREVIOUS: A severe traffic alert remained in effect late Tuesday afternoon on state Highway 29 in Napa as police activity involving a man threatening to jump from a freeway overpass continued. An emergency road closure was called for all lanes of northbound and southbound SR-29 between Trancas Street and state Highway 221 when the incident began early Tuesday morning. At 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, Caltrans officials estimated the roadway will likely remain completely shut down until at least 10 p.m.

The Napa Police Department's crisis negotiators have been on scene throughout the day, trying to talk the man down while CHP diverts traffic off the freeway — allowing motorists to exit and re-enter the freeway at Trancas.

California Highway Patrol Officer Vincent Pompliano said authorities were alerted of the potential jumper on the Trancas Street overpass at 5:35 a.m. The closure in both directions was put into place at that time.

Photos from the scene show a man wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans standing on the outside ledge of the overpass, holding onto a chain-link fence.

Napa police confirmed at 4:50 p.m. — more than 11 hours after the incident began — that they were still "communicating with a subject in crisis at the Trancas Street overpass at Highway 29."

"There is still no threat or danger to the public," Napa police said in a updated statement on Facebook. "There is still no traffic access in the area."

Motorists were advised to expect delays and to use alternate routes to avoid the area.

"Caltrans plans to reopen the roadway by 10 p.m.," according to 511.org.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

Main photo via Shutterstock