It's not exactly normal for police officers to be thanked following a motor vehicle stop and subsequent arrest, but one New Jersey driver expressed gratitude and told officers that being pulled over might have saved his life.

The incident began on Sunday morning at about 3:30 a.m. when a North Brunswick police officer was on patrol on Route 27. The officer attempted to pull over the driver, but the vehicle "did not stop immediately," police said in a Facebook post.

Instead, the driver allegedly continued to elude police traveling just into the City of New Brunswick before finally coming to a stop. During the course of an investigation, the patrol officer found that the driver's license was suspended. As the officer continued his investigation, authorities say "the driver again attempted to flee, but was stopped before getting too far."

As he was being placed under arrest, police say the suspect continued to struggle and pull away from officers in an attempt to run away. he was ultimately restrained by officers. That's when things took an unexpected turn.

"This familiar story became unusual when the driver began thanking the officer," North Brunswick Police said in their Facebook statement. "Apparently, the driver was going through a bad time and was suicidal, making attempts at running in to oncoming traffic. He thanked the officers for intervening and preventing him from taking any further action."

The name of the suspect has not been released. Police say following the arrest, he was "transported to an area hospital for help."

If you're having suicidal thoughts and need help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or the New Jersey Hopeline at 1-855-654-6735.

Toniann Antonelli is the digital managing editor for news at NJ 101.5. Reach her at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.

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