Officials get man off Interstate 17 overpass in Phoenix; freeway reopens

Josiah Destin | The Republic | azcentral.com

Show Caption Hide Caption What happens in a 911 call? Go inside the Phoenix Fire Department 911 call center to learn about what's going on when you call 911 in the Phoenix metro area. Hannah Gaber/azcentral.com

Officials were able to get a man down from a pedestrian overpass on Interstate 17 more than three hours after he began threatening to jump off, forcing the freeway's closure.

Crews reopened the one-mile stretch of I-17 in central Phoenix after 9:30 p.m., Phoenix police said.

The incident began about 6 p.m., when the person began threatening to jump off the structure, located between Bethany Home Road and Glendale Avenue, police said.

Video and photos posted on Twitter by several people showed the man standing on the very top of the structure soon after the closure.

Police closed northbound traffic in I-17 at Bethany Home Road with southbound traffic stopped at Glendale Avenue, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.