Tragedy gripped the city of Yonkers Monday evening when a 25-year-old man leaped from the roof of a high-rise apartment building and plummeted nearly 170 feet to land on a 61-year-old man.
The impact was so loud bystanders thought it was a car crash.
“He was a friend of a friend, he came here to visit him,” said a witness of the older man.
The man who jumped was described as ‘distraught’ and ‘having special needs.’
The suicide took place at Cromwell Towers, a low-income apartment building located near the Hudson River. Locals said this isn’t the first tragedy to occur at the building and have complained to city officials about easy access to the roof.
When police entered the building to investigate, they were greeted with a scene straight from a horror movie.
“We found blood throughout the building where he had been cutting himself and being in an emotional crisis like that he went up to the roof and jumped,” said Yonkers Police Commissioner John Mueller.
Police do not suspect foul play, though the building’s management team has not responded to questioning.
Regarding the suicide, Commissioner Mueller said, “It’s good to let people know that there are resources and there are things that we can get out and get ahead of this through prevention.”
Regarding the death of an innocent bystander, he said nothing.
Police have not released the names of the two men.