Motorist convinces man not to commit suicide on Grosvenor bridge in Douglasdale

A man named Isaac was found on the Grosvenor bridge in Douglasdale on the evening of 30 July by a passing motorist. When Spencer Kitson pulled over to ask Isaac if everything was alright, he didn’t get a response.

According to Kitson’s Facebook post about the incident, the man seemed well-dressed but in despair. “As I approached [him], I said, ‘Hey man, are you alright?’, [and] there was no reply.”

“I leant over to him and told him that, whatever he was going through, it is really not worth jumping [over].”

Isaac told Kitson that he had been unable to get a job for two years and, being unable to provide for his daughter, he feels worthless and valueless. Isaac believed that all problems stem from him.

“He would be easier if he was ‘removed from the equation’, as he put it,” said Kitson. A taxi driver had also pulled over and decided to join Kitson in talking Isaac out of jumping off the bridge. “The taxi driver was pushing R20 into Isaac’s hand, which he refused.”

Kitson managed to convince Isaac to join him for dinner at his home. “After chatting to a more responsive Isaac, I [realised] that he was well educated, well spoken, passionate and just desperate for any opportunity that would allow for him to have any chance to progress in life. I offered for him to come to my house for dinner [and] he, with a flood of tears, accepted.”

Kitson discovered that Isaac has worked in a school environment and administration positions but is desperate for any job preferably around the Douglasdale and Bryanston area.

If you would like to offer any donations, housing prospects or a job opportunity, email Kitson on spencer.kitson@yahoo.com