A man who apparently got out of a vehicle on the upper deck of the Bay Bridge and was then hanging off a rail on the side of it Thursday afternoon caused all westbound traffic to be halted for over a half hour.

Drivers first reported the "dangling" man at 4:20 p.m., as the Chronicle reports, and CHP officers had halted traffic into the city by 4:30 p.m. as they went to find him. It wasn't so simple, however, and arriving officers did not see anyone hanging off the bridge. The man apparently decided to hide when he heard their sirens, and crawled onto a ledge beneath the bridge, according to the CHP.

CHP called in help from the Coast Guard, who brought in a boat under the bridge, from which they spotted the man and were able to talk to him and coax him off the ledge, as ABC 7 reports.

The helicopter noted by a driver in the tweet above was actually ABC 7's Sky 7 copter, and they had aerial footage of the scene.

Officers later determined that the man had not walked onto the bridge but had gotten out of a vehicle and climbed over the side.

The unidentified man was taken to Saint Francis Memorial Hospital for a mental health evaluation. As CHP Officer Bert Diaz tells the Chronicle, "I can’t imagine anyone in this situation being in a good state of mind."

Traffic began flowing again over the bridge just after 5 p.m.

If you are in crisis, text "BAY" to 741741 for free, 24/7, confidential crisis support from Crisis Text Line. And if you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, you or they should call the San Francisco Suicide Prevention crisis line at 415-781-0500.

If someone you know exhibits warning signs of suicide: do not leave the person alone; remove any firearms, alcohol, drugs or sharp objects that could be used in a suicide attempt; and call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or take the person to an emergency room or seek help from a medical or mental health professional.