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The boy, who broke his femur, was conscious and alert but breathing shallow when two Glen Rock police officers responded to the facility off Harristown Road just before 7 p.m. They were soon followed by volunteer ambulance workers and a paramedic unit from The Valley Hospital.
He was taken to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson.
Police expect it will be a few days before they’re able to speak with the boy, whose fall was witnessed by several others. Whether it was a premeditated or spontaneous act is one of the questions they’ll likely try to answer.
“We’re glad that he survived,” Glen Rock Police Sgt. Eric Reamy told CLIFFVIEW PILOT this morning. “He had some very significant injuries.
“We’re trying to determine how he accessed the equipment,” the sergeant said.
Witnesses said the boy used his t-shirt to try and slide down the line but got stuck and had to let go.
“He used his shirt to go on the zip line, and his shirt got stuck all the way up, and his friends said they would catch him,” a 12-year-old witness said. “He was, like, 30 feet high and he fell.”
The line is used for a senior year confidence exercise and had never been abused before, school district officials said.
Schools Supt. Paula Valenti told CBS-2 that district officials intend to review practices but stressed that “all security enhancements were in place.”
CLIFFVIEW PILOT Correspondent Boyd A. Loving took the pictures and contributed to this story.
STORY / PHOTOS: CLIFFVIEW PILOT Correspondent Boyd A. Loving
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