![Tuolumne County Sheriff Corporal Andrew Long speaks during a press briefing on how he saved a man's life after the man attempted to commit suicide [Facebook/Screenshot/Tuolumne County Sheriff]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-10-at-2.53.13-PM-e1612986958743.png "Tuolumne County Sheriff Corporal Andrew Long speaks during a press briefing on how he saved a man's life after the man attempted to commit suicide [Facebook/Screenshot/Tuolumne County Sheriff]")
A California Sheriff’s Deputy is being hailed a hero after his quick reflexes left him clutching onto a man’s arm after the man tried to jump off a bridge in a suicide attempt on Monday.
Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Corporal Andrew Long was scouring the area for an unidentified man who had been reported hours earlier to be in danger, according to police. Long tried to talk the man down for ten minutes before the man attempted to jump into the water which is roughly 150 feet down.
“We spoke mainly about his family, his life,” Long said during a press briefing. “He didn’t want to speak to me.”
As the individual began climbing over the railing of the bridge, Long said he instinctively ran toward the man.
“There’s no way you can train for that. I was very lucky that it worked.” (RELATED: Suicide Rates In US For 2019 Were Down For The First Time In More Than A Decade)
Long quickly grabbed the man’s arm through the railing and held him as he dangled for 30 seconds, police said. Deputies from the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office and search and rescue volunteers quickly came over and assisted, pulling the man over the rail to safety.
The man was taken to a local hospital but was uninjured, according to police.
“It was adrenaline, is what is was,” Long said.
The incident began shortly after midnight when the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office said they received a report that a man had threatened to jump off a local bridge. Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office and Angels Camp Police Department checked two ferry bridges but were unable to locate the man.
Shortly after 3 a.m. that same morning authorities found the man’s car near the Parrotts Ferry bridge but still were unable to locate the unidentified individual.
The Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team, deputies and other local authorities began another search of the area around 7 a.m..
The man was finally located around 10 a.m. standing on the Parrotts Ferry bridge.
Long, however, doesn’t consider himself a hero.
“I’m a first responder,” he said during the press briefing. “This is what we do. We are there for people’s worst and their best days.”
“We always want to get there before something happens, and thankfully this time we were,” he added.
