LEWISTON – A man pulled his car to the side of the road, left a note in it saying he was going to kill himself and spent the next hour and a half atop South Bridge Saturday, according to police.

Sgt. Jeff Parshall said the call came in from a passing motorist at 5:31 p.m. The motorist tried to climb up after the man and talk him down, without luck.

Parshall estimated the top of the bridge, which crosses the Androscoggin River, at 25 to 30 feet high. He declined to identify the man who had intended to jump, beyond saying he was 38 years old and from Lewiston.

“He was very angry,” Parshall said. Atop the bridge, “he kneeled, he stood, he walked, he sat.”

Police talked to him from the roof of their critical-incident truck. Parshall credited Officer Justin Kittredge and former police crisis counselor Laurie Cyr-Martel as being instrumental in talking him down. At 7:11 p.m. the man crawled down from the bridge on his own. He was taken to St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center for an evaluation.

No charges were filed.

Auburn Police Department’s water rescue team, the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, Lewiston Fire and United Ambulance all responded.

In an incident like this, Parshall said, you hope time has a calming effect. “You’re not going to rush up and climb the girders and get him.”