Port Authority officers stop GWB suicide jump after man leaves wife, toddler at toll plaza

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: An intoxicated 45-year-old Paterson man with a history of suicide attempts — including slitting his wrists — got out of his family’s minivan at the George Washington Bridge toll plaza this morning, leaving his wife and 20-month-old son behind, and was headed for the south walkway when Port Authority police grabbed him, authorities said.

Photo Credit: *Cliffview Pilot File Photo*

Jerry DeMarco

05/12/2015 3:10 p.m.

The man’s wife called police saying that he “was going to commit suicide by jumping from the bridge” after her husband got of their car, walked through the toll plaza and headed for the walkway at 9:05 a.m., the authority’s Joseph Pentangelo told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

Hearing the subsequent alert, Officers Brian Ahern, Jeff Haner, and Will Burke headed to the area intercepted the man 10 minutes later, Pentangelo said.

He was taken to Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck.

His 30-year-old wife received a summons for driving with a suspended license and the minivan was impounded, he said.

“Legally we had no other choice,” Pentangelo said.

Both the woman and child were brought to the Port Authority administration building near the bridge in Fort Lee, where a relative picked them up.

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