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The distraught girl had somehow wiggled past a chain-link fence, leaving nothing between her and Route 20 nearly 40 feet below, Elmwood Park Police Chief Michael Foligno said.
What followed next around 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, was “extremely nerve-racking,” the chief said. “We thought we were going to lose her.” (story continues below)
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UPDATE: Elmwood Park Police Chief Michael Foligno is asking the state DOT to block access to the ledge of a bridge where a distraught girl was rescued by responders for the second time in less than 24 hours. READ MORE....
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The nearly 8-foot fence on the Broadway bridge has a curved top in order to prevent people from climbing it.
It also made it impossible for Foligno and other officers who responded to get hold of the girl.
So Detective Nick Dimovski grasped the teen’s fingers, which she’d laced through the fence, then held on tight and kept her talking “while the rest of us tried to figure out a way to get to her,” the chief said.
Paterson firefighters arrived just in time.
Positioning an aerial truck below, city Firefighter Andrew Mingione hoisted colleagues Lucas Zarate and Eddie Jimenez toward the troubled teen.
Then came a frightening moment.
Losing her footing, the girl ended up “suspended in the air, holding on by her fingers, which Dimovski's held onto from the other said," Foligno said.
That left just enough time for the two firefighters to grab hold of the youngster and carry her onto the ladder.
Once on the ground, they turned the girl over to EMTs, who brought her to a local hospital for an evaluation.
Foligno called his detective and the Paterson firefighters heroes, along with Paterson Police Officers Capt. Vazquez and Officers Julian Burks, Jermaine Murray, among the other responders from both sides of the Passaic River.
“In 34 years in law enforcement, I never felt so helpless in an emergency situation,” Foligno said. “If not for the heroic acts of Detective Dimovski and Firefighters Jimenez and Zarate, the victim would have fallen to her death.”
“They acted calmly and professionally in what obviously was a life-and-death situation,” he said.
FOOTNOTE: The girl returned to the bridge on Thursday and was once again brought to safety by Elmwood Park police.
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The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) offers 24/7 call, text and chat access to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing suicidal, substance use, and/or mental health crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available.
Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
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