What to Know
- A 21-year-old man who saw a young woman jump into the East River early Thursday leaped in after her, trying to save her, police say
- He was pulled out first; the woman was swept down the river but held onto a pylon by Pier 36; she was rescued also
- Both people were taken to a hospital in stable condition; the woman is being held for a psychological evaluation
A 21-year-old man who saw a young naked woman in the East River leaped in after her, trying to save her as she struggled in the water near the Williamsburg Bridge early Thursday, authorities say.
The woman, a 26-year-old from Queens, made the plunge by Delancey Street shortly before 6 a.m., cops say.
Authorities received a call around 5:45 a.m. of a man and a woman in the water by the Williamsburg Bridge. When they arrived to the scene, authorities found the man out of the water, apparently having managed to get out on his own, according to NYPD Officer Vincent Fulgieri from the Emergency Service Unit.
The responding officers later spotted the women, only to lose visuals of her, according to Fulgieri, adding that the officers responding “started moving southbound with the current and waited at the pier.”
The woman was later located underneath the pier where she was incoherent, screaming and refusing to come out of the water.
“We made contact with her at which point she was very despondent and didn’t have any desire to come out of the water,” Fulgieri said. “We told her we were there to help her. At that point we made entry into the water and grabbed a hold of her.”
Officers from the Emergency Service Unit, equipped with dry suits and floatation devices descended into the water, while tethered to a rope held by other officers on land, and managed to reach the naked woman and pull her aboard an NYPD boat.
Local
“She was incoherent at the time. We really couldn’t get anything from her. She was just screaming and yelling,” said Det. Meghann Kinsella of the NYPD Harbor Unit.
Officials say the conditions of the river at that time helped in the rescue process since there was a soft current and water temperature was about 73 degrees.
According to officials, they are not sure where exactly she got in the water, but believe it was somewhere near the Williamsburg Bridge.
It is unclear if the woman and the man who managed to pull himself out of the water knew each other. However, authorities say he went in to try to save her.
The unidentified man refused medical attention and left the scene after getting out of the water.
The woman was taken to Bellevue Hospital for a psychological evaluation.
