Official: Man rescued after jump from Q Bridge

NEW HAVEN — A man who jumped off the Pearl Harbor Bridge on Saturday morning survived and was rescued from the Quinnipiac River, a city official said.

New Haven Emergency Management Director Rick Fontana said the man jumped into the river at about 10:20 a.m. following a traffic stop on the bridge. “The man got out of the car and ran in the middle the bridge jumped off,” Fontana said

“Miraculously, he appeared uninjured,” he said.

Fontana said the New Haven dispatch center received a 911 call from state police, after which police and fire units were sent to the bridge. The fire boat also was dispatched, he said.

However, the man was able to swim to a bridge abutment and was helped out of the water there, Fontana said. He said the crew was able to reach the man from the Tomlinson Bridge, which is lower than the Q bridge, as the Pearl Harbor Bridge is commonly known.

“The individual who was in the water was alert and assisted by the fire (crew) with his own recovery out of water,” he said.

The fire crews were in cold weather gear but did not have to enter the water, Fontana said. "The fire (crew) onshore personnel got to him; they made entry from the Tomlinson Bridge and there is access to get water there."

He said the bridge is about 100 feet high.

Fontana did not identify the man but said he was estimated to be about 35 years old. The man was taken by ambulance to Yale New Haven Hospital for evaluation, he said.