Orange County Fire Captain Jumps To His Death From 5 Freeway Overpass

MISSION VIEJO (CBSLA.com) — The Orange County Fire Authority is in mourning Wednesday for a captain who jumped to his death from the Crown Valley Parkway overpass over the San Diego (5) Freeway in Mission Viejo.

At the end of Tuesday night's Board of Supervisors meeting, Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer adjourned the gathering in memory of Capt. Eric Weuve, 41, who was assigned to Station 64 in Westminster.

Weuve was identified as the man who leapt from the overpass just before 11:20 a.m. Tuesday and was struck by vehicles, according to OCFA Capt. Larry Kurtz.

He worked for the OCFA since 2005. He was married and was the father of a 14-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl.

"The word 'tragedy' doesn't really do it justice," Kurtz said. "He was a great asset to the OCFA and he will be thoroughly missed by all of the OCFA community."

It was not immediately clear what prompted Weuve to jump from the overpass.

"That's the question everybody is asking -- why? That's unfortunately the question nobody has an answer to except Capt. Weuve," Kurtz said.

Services for Weuve were still being planned, Kurtz said.

Weuve was off duty for several months following shoulder surgery, Kurtz said. He had recently returned to regular duty.

"Incidents like this serve as a reminder the holidays are a very tough time for a lot of people, so just hope everybody spends a great time with their family and remind yourself and your family just how important and precious life is," Spitzer said.

Authorities had blocked southbound traffic on the freeway until a couple of lanes were reopened about an hour later.

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