Teen plunges to his death as he climbs bridge for social media post, CA cops say
A teen fell to his death while climbing a California bridge, a stunt intended to be posted on social media, police said.
The 17-year-old was climbing one of the arches of the “iconic” 6th Street Viaduct “to post, apparently, a social media broadcast,” Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said during a Tuesday, May 23, police commission meeting.
“He slipped and fell to his death,” Moore said.
Police arrived on scene around 2 a.m. Saturday, May 20, ABC7 News reported. The teen was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Moore said police patrols will continue in the area “to counter such reckless actions.”
“Tragically, we see that location, while it has spawned a great deal of pride in Los Angeles, it has also unfortunately served as a backdrop now for tragedies,” Moore said.
The bridge opened in July after the site closed for construction six years prior, the Los Angeles Times reported. The $588 million project replaced the previous bridge “built in 1932 and deemed seismically deficient,” NBC Los Angeles reported.
Following its opening, the site became the center of a number of stunts, including drag racing and street takeovers, City News Service reported.
