MTA police saved a teenager from suicide: the guy wanted to jump off the bridge
'13.11.2020'
Vita Popova
New York City Transportation Administration (MTA) police rescued the son of a colleague, an MTA worker, from suicide. The teenager wanted to jump off the Triborough Bridge in New York, but they managed to track him down and keep him from a tragic act. The details are shared by the publication Daily News.
Around 17:20 pm on November 10, the teen's alarmed father, the caretaker of another bridge operated by the Bridge and Tunnel Authority in Triborough, told police that his 17-year-old son was intending to jump off the bridge. He said that his attempts to dissuade his son (the guy called him on the phone) were unsuccessful.
It took a group of 14 MTA cops less than 40 minutes to track down the teen, which is not easy on Triborough, which is New York's bridge system connecting boroughs like the Bronx, Queens and Manhattan.
“We had a photograph of a child. When we got to the bridge in Queens, we saw the guy, and we could only identify him by his eyes, ”said Lt. Dennis Palazzola, one of the police officers involved in the rescue operation. - We approached him. He was worried and upset. We managed to deliver it safely to EMS. "
Palazzola, 31, who has been with MTA for 11 years, says his team is well trained to respond quickly to situations like this.
On the subject: Mysterious death: in New York, a 13-year-old fell from a terrace on the 20th floor
Despite the pandemic, which has caused emotional distress and financial hardship for many New Yorkers, the number of suicides on MTA bridges has declined, according to Richard Hildebrand, TBTA vice president and head of the rescue operation.
“Surprisingly, this year we have made progress despite the state of affairs in the world,” said Hildebrand.
He called the attempt of the 17-year-old to commit suicide "a cry for help."
“It was a cry for help, I think so. After a couple of decades of working here, I now know that if someone is going to do this (commit suicide. - Ed.), he just stops his car, maybe leaves a note, usually puts his wallet out of his pocket and just jumps. I'm not saying this guy wouldn't jump. But in fact he asked for help, "Hildebrand summed up.
