Three Fort Mill heroes have been credited with stopping a local teen from jumping off the Sutton Road bridge at I-77.

William Harden, Haley Harden and Joe King Estes all witnessed a 17-year-old boy standing near the side of the bridge two weeks ago. The teen wanted to kill himself and had run away from the New Hope Carolinas, a Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility in Rock Hill.

When the three Good Samaritans saw the teen sitting on the ledge of the bridge facing I-77 southbound traffic on Jan. 17, they acted quickly, according to a Fort Mill police report.

“They exited their vehicles and physically grabbed (the teen) and was holding him until police arrived,” a report says.

The young man was transported to Piedmont ER. The police report says the teen was under a court order to stay in custody of New Hope Carolinas. And it was not the first time the teen had escaped from the facility.

Greg "Ricky Bobby" Rickabaugh has lived in the Fort Mill and York County community since 2006. He has covered the area while a reporter for The Charlotte Observer and a freelance writer for The Fort Mill...

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