KXXV-TV News Channel 25 - Central Texas News and Weather for Waco, Temple, Killeen | UPDATE: man dies after jumping off bridge

UPDATE: man dies after jumping off bridge

by Adam Amaro & Patrick Tolbert

WACO - The man who jumped off a bridge over Interstate 35 in Waco died in the operating room.

News Channel 25 learned that the 33-year-old Jessie Zapata died at the new Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center.

Lacy Lakeview Police say Zapata is suspected in the murder of 28-year-old Carolina Tovar earlier Sunday night.

Traffic near the intersection of Interstate 35 and Loop 340 on Waco's West Side was stopped after a man allegedly tried to commit suicide by stabbing himself and jumping off an overpass.

The first calls came in around 8:45 Sunday evening.  Robinson police say the man is alive but aren't commenting on his condition.  A knife was found near where he fell leading police to believe he stabbed himself before jumping.

He was taken to the new Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center just a few hundred yards away.

Traffic on the northbound side was backed up as far south as Lorena as officers worked to clear the scene and ensure the safety of the man. All traffic was being routed to the access roads until 9:15 when police reopened the interstate. The southbound lanes weren't shut down but crawled along from all the onlookers.