A man was seen "messing about" on a bridge over the A2 near Dartford Heath moments before falling and suffering serious injuries in an apparent suicide attempt.
The entire road was closed following the incident at just after 8am on Thursday (November 13) at the Oakfield Lane bridge.
A Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance helicopter landed on the motorway, and a paramedic and doctor from the service accompanied the patient to King’s College Hospital in a road ambulance.
The man in his 30s was suffering from head, chest, pelvis and ankle injuries, after plunging 40ft onto the coastbound carriageway.
Stephen Winston, 30, was on the A2 travelling west at around 7.55am on his way to work as a warehouse driver for a mailing company in Wilmington.
Stephen, who lives in Sun Road, Swanscombe, told News Shopper: “There was a van parked on the bridge and the driver had his shoulders resting on the railings and his legs in the van.
Image from Youtube by PHANTOMMEDIA123.
“He looked like he was just resting. I looked at him and I thought, ‘what’s he doing, messing about?’
“I thought it was a joke.”
Karen Elliott-Brown, 51, said: "It was really strange.
"He was hanging out of his van over the railings, he was really far out.
"The van must have been parked on the pavement because the van was almost touching the railing.
"I was concentrating on the road but my friend turned back and said she saw him push himself out of the van – she is still shaken up by it.
"At first I wondered if he was messing around but my friend said it looked as if he was trying to kill himself.
"If he had gone off the Londonbound side he would have been run over as that's the busier side of the road."
The coastbound carriageway was closed completely shortly after the incident, with traffic piling up all the way back to the Falconwood Interchange.
It was 9.40am before the first cars were allowed through and it was fully reopened by lunchtime.
The Londonbound side was closed for an hour between 8.20am and 9.25am, with queues stretching back to the Swanley Interchange.
Did you see what happened? Call 01689885702, e-mail tim.macfarlan@london.newsquest.co.uk or tweet @NewsShopperTim
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