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Beer truck driver saves man attempting to commit suicide in Minneapolis

Posted at 11:30 AM, Aug 20, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-20 12:41:02-04

A suicide attempt in Minnesota was foiled by two men and a 12-pack of Coors Light.

In an interview withKARE 11 in Minneapolis, delivery drivers Kwame Anderson and Jason Gabel described how they saved the man's life.

On their route, Anderson and Gabel saw a man ready to jump off a bridge above I-94 near St. Paul Wednesday morning and knew they had to do something.

The man told the two, "I am going to commit suicide. Watch me fly." 

Gabel, who was driving, pulled over and called police. Anderosn approached the man and told him he did not need to jump. 

The man on the bridge questioned his sincerity. Anderson began asking what he could do to get the man down.

"I asked him if he wanted any food. How can I get you down? Do you want something to eat? He said 'no.' I said,' do you need any money?' I have my wallet in the car. He said, ' I don't need any money. I am not a beggar,'" Anderson said.

So Anderson did what any beer truck driver would do: offer him a beer. 

“Then when he said 'maybe,’ I was like officers, keep him occupied. I will be right back,” Anderson said. “I ran to the truck and grabbed a case of Coors Light. Came back with a 12 pack and started talking to him again. I said if you come down off that ledge, this whole pack is yours.”

The man came down and had a drink with Anderson.

What is more surprising, Gabel and Anderson were not even supposed to be near that bridge, but Gabel took a wrong turn.

“I don't know why I did this. I take a left and I go toward the bridge but usually we always go straight,” Gabel said. “We have a route that we do every Wednesday and that wasn't the way I would normally go. It wasn't part of the plan, but it was God's plan.”

Plus, Kwame wasn't supposed to deliver beer that day. He was supposed to start his new role in the sales department of Breakthru Beverage.​

​​​​​​Instead, he helped a man on the verge of ending his life --- breakthrough a rough moment.