By Bruce Karnick

[email protected]

Every day, 35,000-plus cars travel Vermillion Street with tens of thousands of people crossing the Mississippi River via the Hastings bridge. On Thursday, March 18, some of those motorists witnessed something no one expected to: A man walking the 94- foot-high arch of the bridge.

Every day, 35,000-plus car travel Vermillion Street with tens of thousands of people crossing the Mississippi River via the Hastings bridge. On Thursday, March 18, some of those motorists witnessed something no one expected to: A man walking the 94-foot-high arch of the bridge.

The Hastings Police Department was asked to take the call around 3:45 p.m. on behalf of the Minnesota State Patrol regarding the man walking across the Hastings Bridge. The man, an experienced iron worker, took a stroll up and over the bridge rather than taking the sidewalk.

' dangerous behavior. “Obviously, this is extremely dangerous behavior. Sudden gusts of wind, slippery surfaces or potential vertigo could cause height” services afallfromasignificant height'saidDeputyChiefDavidWilske. It should not need to be said, but please do not attempt this. It is not only extremely dangerous, but it is illegal.

Wilske stated those participating in this behavior could receive citations ranging from Disorderly Conduct to Criminal Trespassing on Critical Public Service Facilities, a gross misdemeanor. The penalty for that could be up to a $3,000 fine and up to a year in jail.

Thankfully, the man was not injured, and the spectacle did not cause any accidents on the bridge. An officer did make contact with the person who was very cooperative. He was transported away from the area and per their discretion, the officer did not issue a citation in this case.

Photo courtesy of Riley Gulner Given the expected rarity and the extreme danger of this, it is currently unclear if there is a need for city officials to explore opportunities to deter this from happening in the future. The detriment should be the clear risks from falling.

Social media was having a heyday with the story with reports of people in Brainerd asking friends in Hastings about the incident. County Commissioner Joe Atkins even shared the story on his official page.

“I cross the Hastings bridge a lot, but never dreamt of doing it this way,” Atkins said in his post.

Officials hope that no one else considers crossing it that way either. The DroneCity LLC folks got involved too, parking their drone close to the top of the bridge to share the view from up there in hopes of deterring copycats from risking life and limb.

“Can you believe someone walked up and down the arches today!?? I drive over this bridge almost everyday, I often ponder what it would be like… But the risk/reward is just not quite there, but it was for this guy……Here is the drone view from the top, to save you a trip up and over [smiley face],” they said in a post on their social media.

Take a look at their pictures on facebook.com/drone11, and please do not risk the trip up and over yourself.