SAN FRANCISCO – A police standoff with an armed man who reported having explosives in his vehicle briefly halted traffic on Northern California's busiest bridge during Thursday's morning commute.
The 51-year-old man, described by authorities as mentally unstable, called 911 around 7 a.m. after pulling over on the upper deck of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and threatened to blow it up, said California Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Trent Cross.
Authorities halted all westbound traffic on the upper deck as officers negotiated with the man, who could be seen standing outside his SUV talking on a cell phone.
His 16-year-old daughter managed to escape from the vehicle during the hourlong standoff.
Cross said the man, an emergency medical technician from Antioch, reported being upset over a family issue. He brandished a gun, then threw it over the railing into the water.
After convincing him to surrender, officers passed him a pair of handcuffs and he put them on and turned himself in, Cross said. The man's name was not immediately released.
Authorities found no explosives in the SUV.
The CHP reopened some westbound lanes shortly after 8 a.m., though traffic remained snarled throughout the morning. Eastbound lanes on the lower desk were kept open during the incident.
An average of 280,000 motorists use the Bay Bridge each day.