Published Monday, April 16, 2012 | 12:35 p.m.
Updated Monday, April 16, 2012 | 1:30 p.m.
I-215 closed
Metro Police have taken a man into custody who skipped out on his cab fare Monday morning, then ran across Interstate 215 and threatened to jump from an overpass.
Around 11:40 a.m., the Taxi Authority asked for assistance for a Yellow Cab driver who reported that a passenger fled before paying his fare, according to Metro Police.
The man was dropped off near a Hertz Rent-a-Car at Gillespie Street and East Warm Springs Road, according to Metro spokesman Marcus Martin.
According to reports, the man ran on George Crockett Road, which runs parallel to I-215, and then ran onto the freeway, crossing eastbound and westbound lanes of traffic.
“It’s amazing he’s alive,” Martin said. “It’s amazing he ran across a high-speed roadway and did not get struck, and there are no related accidents.”
Eventually the man, estimated to be in his 30s, climbed a fence near a freeway overpass and threatened to jump.
A Crisis Intervention Team from Metro Police was able to “establish a rapport” with the man, Martin said, and took him into custody around 12:45 p.m.
At one point the man asked for police to shoot him, Martin said.
The man will be taken for a medical evaluation. Because of the incident, Nevada Highway Patrol had to close I-215 in both directions near Las Vegas Boulevard, snarling traffic. All lanes are now open.
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