Santa Cruz Police shut down the Water Street Bridge in Santa Cruz Monday for about 90 minutes where a woman reportedly waved a knife at people early Tuesday. The incident was coupled with an unrelated major water main break and flooding.
Around 1 p.m. the woman flashed the knife at passersby. Police rushed in, closed off the heavily-traveled bridge in both directions and tried to establish a dialogue with the woman.
She then backed off into a tent atop the bridge and refused to come out. Eventually, police moved in and removed the 47-year-old woman from the tent. Witnesses told police that she had been living in the tent on the bridge for more than a month and that she may have been dealing with some mental issues.
No injuries were reported.
Meanwhile, a water main broke in the area and caused major flooding around the Santa Cruz County Jail and the nearby County Building. Officials had to close some lanes of traffic for more than an hour to clear the water.
The flooding and knife incident led to major traffic snarls near the Water Street Bridge, which crosses the San Lorenzo River, and surrounding intersections.
