Westwood Man Saves Woman, Dog Jumping Off GWB

About a minute after a man jumped off the George Washington Bridge to his death Friday night, a Westwood man stuck in traffic stopped a young girl headed for the same fate, nj.com reported.

According to the report, Daniel Ricciardella, 31, as stuck in Jersey-bound traffic when he saw a woman carrying a small dog leave her car and climb over the bridge railing.

Ricciardella ran from his car and grabbed the woman’s hand as she was about to let go of the bridge, the report said. As another person on the bridge wrestled the dog away, Ricciardella wrapped his arms around the woman, who was struggling to get away from him, and brought her back over the bridge, the report said.

Ricciardella told nj.com the woman, a 24-year-old from Pequannock, “started screaming 'There's no other way! There's no other way!' I told her there's always another way.”

Port Authority Police apprehended the woman and took the dog, the report said. She was carrying several bags of heroin, and was taken to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation, the report said.

Cops told nj.com that there was no evidence that the two suicide attempts were linked. The 29-year-old man that jumped has not yet been identified.