Father attempts suicide by walking along Chicago’s ‘L’ tracks

Man arrested after attempting suicide on Chicago’s elevated train tracks. Screen shot via CBS News.

An unidentified man was arrested yesterday by Chicago police after he was seen walking along Chicago’s elevated train tracks. The man disrupted train service for more than 30 minutes on Thursday while police followed him underneath the tracks to try to coax him off the tracks.

Chicago’s famous elevated tracks, often referred to as the ‘L’, is a heavy passenger rail system which runs high above car traffic. The third rail of the tracks carry around 660 volts. According to bigquestion.wordpress.com, a person can die from as little as 10 milliamps. There are 1000 milliamps in 1 volt of electricity. Power was shut off for many blocks to prevent the man from being electrocuted.

The man was walking along these dangerous tracks for several blocks on the city’s south side before trying to jump from a concrete abutment which holds up the elevated overpass. Police took the opportunity to nab him if he tried to climb back onto the tracks via the platform. Firemen were called to the scene to assist in getting the man down from the concrete block but the man decided to climb back up to the platform instead, where police immediately arrested him.

When asked why he was walking along the tracks he reportedly told Chicago Police officers that he got into an argument with his son’s mother who was denying visitation. He said if he couldn’t see his son, he was going to kill himself.

Rail suicides are one of the most popular methods of suicide in America. On average, Chicago sees 1 – 5 rail suicides every year (12 – 15 statewide) according to Illinois Rail Safety.