'He was having a rough day': Lyft driver and his passenger save man from jumping off a bridge
A Portland, Ore., Lyft driver and his passenger knew they had to take action when they noticed a man positioning himself on a railing of the Burnside Bridge, apparently preparing to jump off.
Zachary Laxton has been a driver for the ride-sharing service for nearly a year and a half. He tells Yahoo Lifestyle that he’s never experienced anything like this. It was an otherwise normal Wednesday afternoon when Laxton and his passenger saw what looked like someone about to attempt suicide. They ultimately saved the man’s life.
“When you see someone get up on a railing of a bridge, and looking like they are going to jump, we both knew something was wrong,” Laxton says. “When we saw him, we were shocked. [The passenger] said, ‘Should we do something?’ and I pulled over. She went outside of the car and ran to him. I called 911.”
Police arrived within minutes, ready to take the man to a hospital. But a miracle had already been performed, as Laxton’s passenger somehow got the man to come down from the ledge.
“I wish I knew what she said,” Laxton explains. “I remember her saying his first name — I don’t remember it now — and that he was having a rough day. Or something along those lines.”
Now, Laxton is making sure that people know that he is a resource for any time that they might be feeling the same way.
In a Facebook post, he told followers that Lyft has since made a $500 donation to Out of the Darkness — a community walk held by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention — in his and his passenger’s names. Laxton himself will be taking part in an upcoming walk taking place in Portland on Saturday.
“I always will be a person my friends, family, and even strangers can come to in a time of need,” he says. “Letting people know they are cared for and loved.”
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