Officials: Woman Drives Car Into Hudson River In Apparent Suicide Mission
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - A woman was pulled from the Hudson River on Thursday after her car plunged into the waters after crashing through a fence along a service road and pedestrian walkway in an apparent suicide mission, officials said.
The car was hanging over a guardrail around 10 a.m. along the Henry Hudson Parkway at 97th Street.
1010 WINS' Juliet Papa reports
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Officials say a 42-year-old New Jersey woman was found floating near the river wall about two blocks north of where the car had crashed. She was somehow able to get out of the car after it hit the water.
WCBS 880's John Metaxas reports
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ESU Detectives Darren McNamara and Anthony Selvaggi were told by witnesses the driver was about a 100 yards upriver.
The FDNY threw a life ring into the river and McNamara jumped in to help the woman, police said.
"I'm running, and, I'm like taking this off, drop it right there," he told CBS 2's Pablo Guzman. "She still had her coat on. Her face was above water."
Detective Selvaggi was right behind in their ESU truck and threw his partner a lifeline, pulling them both in.
The woman was conscious but disoriented. The entire rescue took less than two minutes.
"We didn't get any information from the victim herself," said Deputy Fire Chief Dan Donoghue. "She was quite confused, really didn't know what was going on."
The woman was taken to St. Luke's Hospital and is listed in stable condition.
Authorities say witnesses reported seeing just the driver in the car, but divers were sent into the water to make sure no one else had fallen into the river. No one was found.
Officials say the woman nearly collided with another car on the Henry Hudson Parkway which caused her to skid off the highway onto a service road at 96th Street and then through a cyclone fence and into the river.
1010 WINS' Juliet Papa reports the woman may have been attempting to commit suicide.
In the river, the woman yelled, "I made a mistake," Papa reports. The driver she almost hit then called 911.
The Associated Press reports that she left some sort of suicide note behind.
Crews have pulled the car out of the water. Police are still investigating.
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