Quote:A lorry driver has been praised as 'an angel' and 'total hero' after he stopped his vehicle under a busy motorway bridge and climbed onto the roof to save a man from taking his life.
Dan Shillito, from Hull, East Yorkshire, was heading southwards on the M1 towards Derby on Saturday evening when he noticed information boards had flashed up a speed restriction and stated there had been an 'incident'. 
But as he edged closer to the bridge at Palterton Lane in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, the Samskip driver saw 'a leg dangling over the bridge'. 
Without hesitation, the 34-year-old called out to a police officer to ask if he could assist by pulling his truck under the bridge - and help save a man who was attempting to take his life.
The incident occurred just days before World Suicide Prevention Day, which is marked on Wednesday.  
Footage taken by a driver caught in the motorway tailback just after 7pm shows Mr Shillito emerging from the cab of his lorry and climbing onto the vehicle's roof.
He can then be seen helping the man on the bridge above him, by holding his legs and feet until help arrived.

Im sure there will be a few of us who have lost friends and family members to suicide.

Well done Dan, he's obviously one of the good guys and a real-life hero.

His actions remind us that kindness and quick thinking can save lives.

Especially as we reflect on World Suicide Prevention Day.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...e-man.html

Kudos to the lorry driver for being the kind of person who tries to help others.

"Anywhere from one-third to 80% of all suicide attempts are impulsive acts, according to The New England Journal of Medicine. 24% of those who made near-lethal suicide attempts decided to kill themselves less than five minutes before the attempt, and 70% made the decision within an hour of the attempt."

The Role of Impulsiveness Is One of the Saddest Things About Suicide - Business Insider

Very nice, but shouldn't this scofflaw be charged with illegally blocking a roadway and impeding traffic? Why should he get a free pass for endangering other motorists with this reckless manoeuvre? He could simply have called public safety workers who could have safely redirected traffic.

Sure, I get it, "the ends justify the means". He's a hero. I'm just glad he didn't kill any innocent people with this stunt.

(09-10-2025, 06:25 AM)UltraBudgie Wrote: Very nice, but shouldn't this scofflaw be charged with illegally blocking a roadway and impeding traffic? Why should he get a free pass for endangering other motorists with this reckless manoeuvre? He could simply have called public safety workers who could have safely redirected traffic.

Sure, I get it, "the ends justify the means". He's a hero. I'm just glad he didn't kill any innocent people with this stunt.

Professional lorry drivers rule the road, just saying.

(09-10-2025, 06:25 AM)UltraBudgie Wrote: Very nice, but shouldn't this scofflaw be charged with illegally blocking a roadway and impeding traffic? Why should he get a free pass for endangering other motorists with this reckless manoeuvre? He could simply have called public safety workers who could have safely redirected traffic.

Sure, I get it, "the ends justify the means". He's a hero. I'm just glad he didn't kill any innocent people with this stunt.

Naw, he would be ok as the Police were already on the scene, and he asked them if he could intervene.

Quote:I saw a notice board saying there was an incident and just presumed there had been an accident, but as I got closer I realised there weren't any cars involved and I couldn't understand what had happened.
'That's when I saw a traffic officer on the other side of the road jumping over the central reservation and waving at all the cars to stop.
'He walked over to the bridge - and that's when I saw a guy's leg hanging down. 
'I just shouted out to the traffic officer to ask if he wanted me to pull my truck underneath the bridge to stop the man from falling on the ground.
'The officer moved a car and a trailer out of the way, and I pulled my truck underneath the bridge.
'I then got out to see what was going on and I just saw this guy off the bridge. There were three or four police officers all holding on to him.'

This was a good read ^.^ thx for posting

(09-10-2025, 06:52 AM)andy06shake Wrote: Naw, he would be ok as the Police were already on the scene, and he asked them if he could intervene.

Ah, okay. Sorry about that. Then I take it back, he's not a hero, he's just a decent guy who did the right thing.

(09-10-2025, 07:05 AM)UltraBudgie Wrote: Ah, okay. Sorry about that. Then I take it back, he's not a hero, he's just a decent guy who did the right thing.

That's ok, i mean i get that blocking traffic on motorways can indeed be dangerous and cause pileups.

Luckily, the traffic Police already seemed to have been on scene, which probably helped mitigate the dangers.

I understand suicide, insomuch that you feel you just cannot go on.  And I honestly believe that it should be a person's choice, AFTER some heavy duty counceling.

But what I don't understand, is why you would want to mess up someone else, for the rest of their lives, by your method of suicide.   That is not ok.  Jumping from a highway bridge, walking out into traffice, standing in front of a train, ect.  That involves someone else (taking) your life and is not fair to them.



But what a good man that truck driver is.  Honestly his truck still could have been hit by someone not paying attention, he took a risk.   He really is a hero.