Boys in fair condition after plunge from bridge

HACKENSACK, N.J.—Two young boys who survived a 100-foot plunge from a route 287 bridge in Wanaque with their father, who died, remained in fair condition Wednesday while police continued their investigation into the suicide.

The boys, ages 1 and 3, were being treated at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson, said Elizabeth Asani, a hospital spokeswoman.

The father either threw his sons or had them in his arms when he intentionally jumped to his death from the bridge, officials said.

The boys were taken by their father, John Spincken, 37, to the bridge on Monday night. Spincken and his wife, who own a house in Pequannock, were involved in a domestic dispute at the time, police said.

Police do not know how the children survived the jump, saying that their fall may have been cushioned by trees. They were conscious and alert when authorities found them near their father’s body.

Capt. Christopher DePuyt of the Pequannock police said investigators do not know if Spincken threw the boys off the bridge before he jumped, or whether he carried them when he plunged to his death.