WATCH: Man jumps off bridge while stuck in gridlocked traffic┃'I almost died'

Video of the incident has gone viral

BATON ROUGE (AUDACY) - Jimmy Jennings left a car in gridlocked traffic Friday morning to leap into the Atchafalaya River from the Interstate 10 Basin bridge, and video of the shocking dive has gone viral.

Jennings was rescued and arrested after treading water for about three hours.

Khory Vaughan captured the incident on video atop the bridge between Lafayette and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She spoke with WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge.

"We are familiar with the water [and the area], but I don't think he was prepared for what came with it," Vaughan said. "He treaded water for about three hours and started to lose all strength."

Jennings called his jump from the bridge a bad decision in a Facebook post, and reported that he was sore, thanking rescuers for saving his life.

"After swimming for 3 hours the current slowed down and I swan to show but it's no one else but God that saved me I can promise you that I almost died like 5 times but the man upstairs said he was ready for me," Jennings stated on Facebook.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Khory Vaughan