State troopers are being credited with preventing the suicide of a man who was threatening to jump from an overpass onto Interstate 70.

Troopers from the Washington, Pa., barracks said the incident happened just after 9:30 p.m. Tuesday on the Jessop Place overpass in Canton Township.

According to police, the 40-year-old man, whose name has not been released, had climbed over a guide rail and was threatening to jump into the traffic below.

Police said a trooper distracted the man by negotiating with him while two others sneaked up from behind and pulled the man back from the edge of the bridge.

"Cpl. Ready and I were able to approach him without being seen. We used spotlights and safely pulled him off the bridge," Pennsylvania State Police Cpl. Brian Dolan said. "It could have been a major catastrophe if no one was there."

Westbound traffic on the interstate was stopped for about an hour due to the incident.

The man was taken to a hospital and faces unspecified charges.