Body camera footage shows the intense moment a Fort Bend County deputy spotted a woman on an overpass ledge.
RICHMOND, Texas — A Fort Bend County deputy pulled a 21-year-old woman to safety after finding her on the edge of an overpass, preventing what authorities say could have been a tragic suicide attempt. The dramatic rescue, captured on body camera footage, took place on the Highway 99 overpass above the West Park Tollway.
Deputy Terrence Greene of the Precinct 1 Constable’s Office responded to the call within minutes of hearing it come through the radio.
“I realized how close I was to it,” Greene said, explaining he was just around the corner when the call came in.
When Greene arrived at the scene, he spotted the woman’s vehicle but couldn’t immediately see her because of how it was positioned. Once he stepped out of his patrol car, he saw her on the ledge.
“The moment I got out and saw her, she might be trying to jump,” Greene recalled.
The deputy immediately approached the woman and began speaking to her calmly, urging her to bring her leg back over the railing. She listened and allowed him to pull her to safety.
“Thank God, let me get her away from the ledge. I grabbed her and placed her in between me and ledge,” Greene said about the moment she came back over.
After securing the woman between himself and the ledge, Greene called for backup from mental health professionals. He said the woman cried throughout the ordeal, but when he hugged her, she cried harder.
“I felt she understood someone is there to help me,” he said.
Constable Chad Norvell of Fort Bend County Precinct 1 said suicide attempts at overpasses are common and tend to increase during the holiday season.
“Does increase this time of year. Does increase with the stress of money, stress of gifts,” Norvell said.
Tiffany Bittner of the Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD emphasized that feelings of despair are more common than people realize and urged anyone struggling to seek help.
“It’s OK to feel this way, very normal to have these times of feeling down. What I encourage you to do is reach out. Know you are not alone. And find someone to say I need some help,” Bittner said.
Greene hopes sharing this story will encourage others who may be struggling to reach out for support.
“Thank God I was there,” he said.
Anyone experiencing a mental health crisis can call or text 988 for support.
“True heroism isn’t loud–it’s the calm voice, the steady hand and the compassion that pulls someone back from the edge,” said Precinct 1 Constable Chad Norvell on social media.
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