When 79-year-old Andre Mary heard the cries of a young woman near a freeway overpass Wednesday, he wasted no time leaping into action to help save her.
Mary, a former French army paratrooper, was out with wife Joelle around 11 a.m. riding bicycles when he heard what sounded like a girl in distress.
He saw the crying teen clinging to the outside of the Wardlow Road Overpass at the 605 Freeway, at risk of falling.
Mary said he knew he needed to act.
"I have to save this girl. I have to do something," he recalled.
Clutching a fence above the freeway, Mary walked out onto the overpass and shielded the girl from falling over the small ledge.
"She was on the fence like that and I put my arm around her," Mary said, demonstrating the rescue.
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His wife said she was stunned to see the situation unfolding.
"I was flabbergasted to see him on the other side but at the same time, I wanted to help the girl," Joelle Mary said. "I was pulling her T-shirt through the fence."
Police and firefighters arrived and cut a hole through the fence, pulling Andre Mary and the girl to safety.
Andre Mary said he was not afraid while standing on the overpass and never once looked down.
"She was so beautiful, so young. We can't let people go in that way," he said. "I hope that she's OK and I wish the best for her."
The teen was taken to a hospital to be evaluated. It's unclear why she was on the overpass.
