Motorists stranded on a freeway in Los Angeles, California after a man threatened to jump off an overpass took a group selfie as they waited for the road to reopen.

The suicidal man was talked down from the bridge by police, but the freeway was closed in both directions for three hours.

But a group of 14 motorists found a rather tasteless way to while away the time during the ordeal.

 They posed for a selfie photograph - complete with the would-be jumper in the background.

Drivers called the police at around 5:30 pm on Thursday to tell them a man was threatening to commit suicide by jumping off the overpass above 105 Freeway in Paramount.

 They closed the road at 6:30 pm, but reopened it at 9:30 pm after convincing the man not to jump.

The ill-advised selfie was originally posted to the account of Instagram user Samdawg1 - who has since made his account private.

The Mirror