TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — An Indiana State trooper is credited with saving a man's life early Saturday morning on a Wabash River bridge.
Trooper Gerald Stump was on patrol just before 3 a.m. Saturday when he saw a man collapsed on the edge of the Cherry Street bridge just west of downtown Terre Haute.
Stump found the man over the concrete barrier of the bridge, facing the river, with both feet off the ground. Trooper Stump stopped and carefully approached the man, according an account released by the ISP Putnamville Post.
After attempting to talk to the man but getting no response, Trooper Stump quickly approached and lifted the man off the edge of the bridge and put him on solid ground.
That's when the man responded to the trooper's questions.
Trooper Stump placed the man in his patrol car to keep warm, and continued questioning him.
The trooper suspected the West Terre Haute man was under the influence of alcohol and controlled substances. Further conversation led to Stump convincing the man to check into a medical facility for care and treatment. Terre Haute Fire Department medics took him to the hospital.
Police did not share the man's identity.
In their release, State Police acknowledged the trooper's action, stating, "The immediate and selfless actions demonstrated by Trooper Stump proved to be crucial in saving a man's life. Through those actions, proper mental and medical care for recovery will be supplied."
