No explosives found in home of man who jumped off Fort Worth overpass, authorities say

A Fort Worth bomb squad did not find any explosive devices at the home of a man who jumped from a bridge onto Interstate 30 in west Fort Worth early Monday, authorities said. The man died.

Authorities in White Settlement and Fort Worth went to the man's residence as a follow-up investigation after the bridge episode and noticed a strong odor of natural gas and several wires leading from the front door of the residence, a Fort Worth fire official said.

Police later determined there was no immediate threat from the wires.

"The wires were not being used for any incendiary devices," police Detective Michelle Lenoir said in a telephone interview. "They may have been used for the screen door, but we're not sure."

Police did find a burned cardboard box on the stove where the gas had been left on but the fire had extinguished itself, a White Settlement police detective said.

The bomb squad arrived in the 300 block of Hallvale Drive shortly after 8 a.m., fire Lt. Gregg Russell said in a telephone interview Monday morning.

"We know he has a military background from years ago," Russell said. "So there is some concern."

As a precautionary measure, several homes were evacuated in the 300 blocks of Hallvale Drive and North Las Vegas Trail, police said.

A next-door neighbor, Teresa Hogue, 63, said she was told by police to evacuate her home. She said she has lived in the neighborhood, which she described as quiet, since 1980 but didn't know how long the man had lived there.

She described him as a white man in his 40s and characterized him as a strange guy "who got drunk and went outside and beat on pots and pans."

Oncor officials turned off utilities to the residence.

The bomb squad checked the home and no one was located. The scene was cleared and residents allowed to return to their homes shortly before 11:30 a.m.

The man jumped from the west loop of Interstate 820 onto eastbound Interstate 30 at about 6 a.m. Monday, prompting authorities to close all lanes of traffic on I-30, police said.

"Confirming that a person did jump off the bridge onto the freeway," police spokesman Daniel Segura said via email. "The medical examiner will ID the person."

As of early Monday afternoon, officials had not released the name of the man.

This story was originally published June 11, 2018 at 10:02 AM with the headline "No explosives found in home of man who jumped off Fort Worth overpass, authorities say."