Straight from a Seinfeld episode. Newman's first appearance. Well, sort of. All you hear is his voice.
This happened in Seattle about 6 years ago, too. A woman was threatening to jump off a bridge and was causing a major traffic jam (she jumped but survived.)
My thoughts are that there is a segment of society that feeds upon bloody entertainment, like murder movies and sick reality TV shows much in the same way that later Romans enjoyed gladiators cutting out each other's bowels.
I feel these are telling signals for the possible direction of our culture. Right along with the same end results as the Romans.
A truly sick society no longer values life nor is compelled to preserve it. How safe can any of our lives be?