- April 24, 2024
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A teenage girl climbed onto the outside of the Palm Coast Parkway overpass over I-95 the afternoon of July 26, leading deputies and firefighters to shut down traffic on both roads while they worked to rescue her.
The teen has been removed from the bridge and taken to Halifax Hospital under a Baker Act, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
She had previously tried to jump from that location on June 20.
“I implore the Department of Children and Families to intervene quickly and get this juvenile the help she needs before it is too late,” Sheriff Rick Staly said in an FCSO news release. “She is crying out for help, and I am fearful that one time she will be successful. The quick response and combined efforts of FCSO deputies, Crisis Negotiations, Communications Center, Fire Rescue saved a life today. I hope that she gets the help she desperately needs.”
Multiple people had called the Flagler County dispatch center at about 12:22 p.m. July 26 saying that someone was standing outside the overpass.
The FCSO's Crisis Negotiations Team responded, as did the Flagler Beach Police Department, Palm Coast Fire Department and Florida Highway Patrol, according to an FCSO news release.
Aware from the previous incident that the girl does not like males, the FCSO formed an all-female negotiation team to talk her down and used a fire engine ladder to lower her to the ground after an hour-long negotiation.
First responders were clearing the scene and reopening the road as of 1:11 p.m., according to the Sheriff's Office.
The girl was uninjured, and there was no harm to first responders during the incident.
There are numerous resources for help with mental health struggles in Flagler County. For more information, visit http://www.flaglerlifeline.org/local-mental-health-services/ or call 800-273-8255. You can also visit: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/.
This story has been updated.
