A New Jersey woman with an apparent death wish had to be fished out of the Hudson River by hero cops this morning after she tried to drive her car into the drink, authorities said.
Det. Darren McNamara jumped into the frigid water to rescue the conscious woman, whose Toyota Camry tore through a fence just after 10 a.m.
A guardrail at West 96th Street stopped the car from plunging fully into the Hudson.
“You have to be going at a decent clip to go through that fence and into the water,” said FDNY Deputy Chief Dan Donoghue. “The female occupant was very confused. [We’re] not sure how she got out of the car.”
The 42-year-old woman was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital, where she was in stable condition and set to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
Sources said she made statements about wanting to end her life, citing “issues” with her family.
McNamara, of Emergency Service Unit Truck 2, went in after the woman when he spotted her about 100 yards south of the partially submerged Camry. He dragged her to shore, where they were pulled out by ESU Det. Anthony Selvaggi.
Firefighters from Engine Co. 76 and Ladder 25 aided in the rescue, tossing a life ring and a ladder into the water.
The woman had been driving south on the Henry Hudson Parkway, near the 96th Street exit, when she clipped a Nissan Altima, then pulled off the parkway as she sped toward the water.
“She hit me,” said the driver of the Altima, a city worker who declined to give his name. “I saw [the car] go into the river and I called 911.”
Donoghue said the river isn’t all that close from where the woman exited the parkway onto a Parks Department service road.
“She knew what she was doing,” he said. “That road is a quarter mile from the river and she drove fast right into it.”
Dets. Anthony Selvaggi and Darren McNamara (
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