Community Corner
Greenwich Man Attempts Suicide from Tappan Zee Bridge
Police reportedly had to Tase the distraught 22-year-old in order to get him away from the edge of the bridge.
New York police reportedly rescued a distraught 22-year-old Greenwich man who was attempting to commit suicide by jumping from the Tappan Zee Bridge at about 5:45 p.m. Thursday. The man has not yet been identified.
According to published reports, an off-duty officer noticed the man’s 2010 BMW parked on the side of the bridge and saw him climbing over the bridge’s railing. The officer reportedly tried to talk the man out of jumping before going back to his vehicle to call for assistance.
When the off-duty officer returned, the man was reportedly sitting on the edge of the bridge, his feet dangling over the side. As the officer and a motorist spoke to the man, he reportedly pulled out a pocketknife and started slitting his wrists. At that moment, state troopers who had arrived on scene reportedly Tased the man in order to get him away from the edge of the bridge. Two New York State Thruway employees also assisted by pulling the man away from the edge immediately after he was Tased.
Find out what's happening in Greenwichwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The man was reportedly taken to the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, N.Y., for treatment.
A recent study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that suicide rates increase during economic downturns. The study is the first to link economic cycles and suicide rates among specific age groups, according to the CDC. People aged 25 to 64 are the most likely to commit suicide during recessions, the study found.
Find out what's happening in Greenwichwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
, the study shows that Connecticut had the second highest rate of suicide attempts in the U.S. among adults 18 and older in 2008 and 2009. The number of Connecticut residents who actually followed through with suicide, though, was lower than the national average, according to the report.
A recent article in American Thinker draws a direct correlation between the increase in the suicide rate in the past few years and President Obama's failed economic policies.
Last month a 53-year-old Rye, N.Y. man who had reportedly lost his job in the financial sector .
And earlier this month a 50-year-old Lewsiboro N.Y. man before taking his own life.