Highway Patrol prevents suicide attempt on Skyway bridge

Traffic on one southbound lane of the Sunshine Skyway bridge was shut down for about 20 minutes this afternoon while the Florida Highway Patrol responded to a man's suicide attempt. The man had parked his red GMC pickup truck and was sitting on the wall shortly after noon. Troopers had him in custody by 12:30 p.m., said FHP spokesman Sgt. Steve Gaskins. The man was "contemplating suicide by jumping off the bridge," Gaskins said.

--Mariana Minaya, Times staff writer