NEW YORK — A man jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge on Tuesday, but he’s alive because two witnesses happened to see the plunge. Those witnesses also happened to be NYPD officers on boat patrol in the New York Harbor, reports the New York Post.
The 31-year-old took the 135-foot leap about 9:15am in the midst of rush-hour traffic.
“He was going straight down, hands at his side,” officer Rosario Roccasalvo tells the Daily News. “I couldn’t believe it.”
Partner Eugene Bebenista kept his eyes on the spot and guided Roccasalvo, who was operating the boat.
“You get goosebumps seeing someone coming off the bridge like that,” says Bebenista. “You just want to get there as quickly as possible and render assistance.”
They did so by tossing a life line to the man, who by that point was flailing and yelling, “Help me!” in the dangerous current.
The officers say he was actually reluctant to grab the line at first, but eventually did so and was brought aboard. The man was being evaluated at the hospital, and the Daily News reports that he’d made some bizarre claims on social media, such as being the author of the Harry Potter books.
Though his rescue was a remarkable stroke of luck, he is at least the fourth person to survive a jump from the bridge since 2004. He should “take this second chance and enjoy it,” says Roccasalvo. “Do something with it.”
This article originally appeared on Newser: Guy Jumps From Brooklyn Bridge, Then a Stroke of Luck
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