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City firefighters cut a hole in the deck of the Temple Street bridge off Presidential Boulevard in Paterson to rescue a man who'd become stuck beneath it late Wednesday as a relentless downpour brought by Tropical Storm Ida bombarded New Jersey.
How he ended up there wasn't immediately clear.
His rescuers found the victim alert and conscious after cutting a small survey hole, responders said. They carved out a larger space using jackhammers and other heavy equipment to get the man out before he was taken to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, they said.
The Passaic County Sheriff's Dive Team also responded.
The Passaic River was one of several to crest -- and in some locations overflow their banks -- as the tropical depression named Ida brought a torrential downpour, along with tornadoes, power outages and roadway collapses.
Not to mention rescues.
Two occupants of a submerged car in Passaic were rescued by firefighters but a third drowned, Mayor Hector Carlos Lora said.
Mahwah firefighters helped rescue trapped motorists and others in Rockland County (see video below).
The rainfall at one point reached a rate of three inches per hour, flooding roads, collapsing buildings and wreaking havoc throughout Bergen and Passaic counties.
Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency, flights were cancelled after Newark Airport was flooded and New Jersey Transit suspended rail service. Thousands of homes and businesses in both counties lost power.
Water rescues were reported in Totowa, Rutherford, Cresskill, Glen Rock, Hawthorne, Passaic, Little Falls and Woodland Park.
Among other incidents:
- An electrocution was reported in Hackensack;
- Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck and Englewood Hospital and Medical Center were flooded;
- A Tesla dealership on Route 17 in Paramus suffered a partial building collapse;
- A lightning strike blew out the windows of a Tenafly home;
- County Road at the Cresskill/Demarest border collapsed, nearly swallowing a vehicle.
A house explosion also was reported on Canal Street in Paterson, and the pedestrian walkway on the George Washington Bridge was closed.
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