Port Allen Fire Department Firefighter Austin Hebert is telling the story of how he rescued a woman who was dangling from the Mississippi River bridge after a suicide attempt.
"Just wasn't her time to go!" Hebert told WBRZ 2. "“I think she had went to go jump and she kind of second-guessed herself and went to go to grab the rail and then I think she just landed on a beam."
That beam was about 10 feet below from where she jumped.
Within minutes, multiple agencies were on the scene.
Once firefighters were on the scene, they had to act quickly. Hebert began climbing his way down to the beam where the woman was sitting, unable to move.
“With a patient being that scared, you got to get down to them," Hebert told WBRZ.
At a height of 167 feet above the Mississippi River, Hebert attached himself and the woman to a harness and they were pulled to safety.
Hebert shared credit with his fellow emergency response crews.
“If they’re going to call me a hero, everyone else that was standing behind me is one too," said Hebert.
The woman was reportedly unharmed from the incident.
If you or anyone you know is having thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide Hotline is 800-273-8255.
