Woman Locks Herself In Crane Over Downtown LA

CHINATOWN (CBSLA.com) — A woman ascended a crane 181 feet above the ground on a construction site in the downtown Los Angeles neighborhood of Chinatown Tuesday evening, halting rush hour traffic and making for some tense moments while authorities worked frantically to reach her.

At around 4 p.m., the woman climbed a crane at West Cesar Estrada Chavez Avenue and North Broadway and locked herself in a cab and refused to come down, the Los Angeles Fire Department reports. Construction workers tried to stop her, but were unsuccessful. Within an hour, power was cut off to the crane and Los Angeles police were on scene trying to determine how to get to her.

Just after 5:50 p.m., she came out of the cab and sat on the platform, at one point precariously dangling her legs off the ledge. A priest from Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church was on hand in case the woman tried to hurt herself.

A Los Angeles police Crisis Negotiation Team rushed up the crane, reached her platform, and by 6:30 p.m., they were able to talk her off the ledge, subdue her and safely bring her down with the help of firefighters.

She had no injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital for a mental evaluation. She could face trespassing charges, police said.

Friends told CBS2 the woman is homeless and frequents the area.

"She comes and goes, she stays out here, and then she takes off and she'll be gone for a while," friend Javier Franco said. "And then she gets in trouble somewhere else and then she comes back. But lately she's been acting up, mentally wise."

During the rescue operation, Broadway was shut down in both directions and at least one lane of Cesar Estrada Chavez Avenue was closed.