First Responders Save Suicidal Man Dangling Over Hudson River

A number of heroic people saved a life, as they held a suicidal man who stepped off the Walkway Over the Hudson and was hanging above the Hudson River.

On Tuesday around 3:40 p.m., City of Poughkeepsie 911 received a call reporting a suicidal man on the Walkway Over the Hudson, at approximately mid-span.

A check of the walkway camera’s confirmed a man climbed over the railing on the south side of the walkway, police say.

A park employee and several responding officers began talking to the man as he was holding onto the railing and leaning out over the river, officials say.

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According to City of Poughkeepsie police, the park employee and officers grabbed the man through and over the railing to prevent him from jumping. The man then stepped off the Walkway Over the Hudson and was hanging over the river, with only the park employee and officers preventing him from falling.

The park employee and officers were able to pull the man back up and secured him using ropes and straps, police say.

Eventually, after some talking with the man, he climbed over the railing with the help of the police officers and a firefighter.

The man was transported to Mid Hudson Regional Hospital for evaluation.

Departments on the scene were the City of Poughkeepsie Police and Fire Departments, Dutchess County Sheriff’s Department, Town of Lloyd Police, Arlington Fire, Mobil Life.