"STAND BACK OR I'LL DRINK THE WHOLE DAMN THING," HE YELLED AS HE BRANDISHED A WATER BOTTLE. UNRULY YOUTHS GATHERED BELOW AND SCREAMED, "DRINK, DRINK, DRINK."PITTSBURGH - A despondent man whose identity is being withheld pending notification of family, Noah Swayne, 31 of Troy Hill, climbed the Clemente Bridge in rush hour last night and threatened to intoxicate himself with five 20 ounce bottles of Mt. Shasta Natural Spring Water. Pittsburgh Police closed the bridge and a counselor from the Pittsburgh Water Authority was called in to talk him down.
The standoff lasted for three hours, snarling traffic on the North Shore. Suddenly, at 8 p.m., a gust of wind scattered three of the bottles into the Allegheny River, and Swayne slowly made his way down. The bridge remained closed all night while police tried to recover the three fallen bottles. "We need to make sure those bottles don't fall into the wrong hands," said Commander Catherine McNeilly, in charge of the rescue.
The Water Authority counselor explained what prompted Swayne to finally come down: "He had to go to the bathroom."
