Just two days before Christmas a potential jumper shut down the Ironton-Russell Bridge as police from Ironton and Russell, Ky., talked the man down from a potential suicide attempt.

The bridge was shut down for approximately an hour and a half on Monday afternoon as police officers tried to get the man down from the span.

Patrons at the nearby KFC restaurant said they saw the man and, at first, were unsure what he was doing.

“We were in the drive through at KFC,” said Amy Hatcher. “I told my boyfriend that there was a man on the bridge who looked like he might jump. He told me it was probably just a worker and then the cops showed up. It’s sad if a man was really thinking about killing himself this close to Christmas.”

The bridge closing had traffic backed up along Campbell Avenue until the man was talked down and taken into custody by the Russell Police Department.

A phone call to the RPD was not returned as of press time.

The man’s age and name are unknown but it is believed that he was an Ironton resident.