BRUNSWICK

A 54-year-old Brunswick man was taken to Mid Coast Hospital early this morning after police from two departments prevented him from taking his own life.

Authorities received a panicked call at 3:02 a.m. from the man’s wife, who had locked herself in their bedroom. She said the man, who was not identified, tried to kill himself in their home by cutting his own throat but then left their house and walked to the middle of the Swinging Bridge off Mill Street.

Topsham police officers found him there, according to Brunswick police Capt. Mark Waltz, and struggled to keep him from climbing over the railing and dropping into the Androscoggin River.

After that struggle, police said the man walked off the Brunswick side of the bridge, where an ambulance waited to take him to Mid Coast.

Police reports describe his shirt as soaked with blood from “a large laceration to the side of his throat.”

Records show the man has been taken into protective custody three other times. Hospital officials had no further information on his condition today.

A Brunswick police car was damaged when it struck a curb while responding to the call. Estimates were not yet available, Waltz said.

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