An apparent suicide attempt resulted in a dramatic rescue by the DeLand Fire Department this morning in the vicinity of the Florida Department of Transportation complex at 719 S. Woodland Blvd.
A man, who a police spokeswoman said was attempting to hang himself, was removed by firefighters from the communications tower just north of the transportation offices, as people watched from the busy street.
The individual, whose name has not been made public, was taken to AdventHealth in DeLand, but was expected to be transferred to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, officials said.
Someone spotted the individual on the tower and called the DeLand Police Department at 10:56 a.m., DeLand Community Information Specialist Ava Hanner said. Police were on the scene at 10:57 a.m.
Emergency workers tried to talk the individual into climbing down, but were unsuccessful, Hanner said. Around 10 minutes later, she added, firefighters had to pull him down after he continued his attempt to hang himself.
The DeLand Police and Fire departments received support from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office Air One helicopter.
South Woodland Boulevard was closed, but has now reopened.
This is a developing story. The Beacon will update with more information as it becomes available.
Hi, is there any news on the development of this story? I was there and I watched from the sidewalk. I would really like to know if the man survived or not. To me it looked like he didn’t make it. Thanks for the article. Elliot.
I’m working on getting an update! Last I heard the man had survived and was in recovery.