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Paterson firefighters who brought an aerial ladder to the Broadway bridge over Route 20 caught the 15-year-old girl on Wednesday during what Foligno said was an "extremely nerve-racking” incident. “We thought we were going to lose her.”
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The girl was more agitated on Wednesday, Nov. 9, said Foligno, who went out on both calls to the Broadway bridge between Elmwood Park and Paterson.
She was "excited and pacing" in the middle of the three-inch ledge on the other side of a bridge fence when the chief and his officers arrived shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday, he said.
"We were trying to get her to stand still," Foligno said.
The girl eventually moved toward the Elmwood Park side of the bridge.
Detectives Randy Gawrylo and Eli Medrano and Officer Steve Araujo had climbed a concrete wall above River Drive. When she got close enough, they grabbed her arm, the chief said.
They and Foligno then pulled her over the wall.
The girl had been sent on Wednesday to New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus, then was released a short time later.
On Thursday, police sent her to a specialized facility in Elizabeth, Foligno said.
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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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