Man rescued after jump from Lawrence bridge

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December 20, 2010

By Jill Harmacinski jharmacinski@eagletribune.com The Eagle Tribune Mon Dec 20, 2010, 02:31 AM EST

LAWRENCE — A 26-year-old man was rescued after he jumped from the Falls Bridge into the Merrimack River to avoid a state police checkpoint early yesterday morning, police said.

Ramon Diaz, 26, was located by police in the river about 100 yards away from where he entered the water at 1:30 a.m.

He was taken to Lawrence General Hospital for treatment of hypothermia, according to a police report.

Diaz's address and condition were not known last night. It was unclear last night if he would face criminal charges for attempting to evade state troopers.

State police routinely set up sobriety checkpoints at undisclosed locations on weekends.

Local and state police put out emergency broadcasts after Diaz jumped from the bridge, struck a bridge abutment and hit the river water, according to a police report.

The Falls Bridge is located on Broadway (Route 28).

Lawrence police Officer Michael Mangan heard the report. He estimated the jumper would get caught up in brush and rocks and end up on the south bank near the back of the Merrimac Paper Co. on Canal Street.

Mangan went behind the Paper Co., bringing along a life preserver ring and rope stashed in his cruiser.

The river, he said, was moving at a rapid speed. Brush and rocks on the bank were layered in ice, Mangan wrote.

Mangan saw Diaz, who was "shivering" and "laying on a small patch of ice covered rocks in the fetal position."

Diaz looked up at the officer and said, "I'm sorry," Mangan wrote in his report.

Mangan told Diaz not to move and that an ambulance was on the way. He lowered the life preserver ring, telling Diaz to put his arm through it. Meanwhile, Mangan anchored himself on the riverbank in case Diaz slipped he could pull him back to safety.

"Although Mr. Diaz was not submerged at the time, I feared he may slide or attempt to move and be swept by the current...," Mangan wrote.

When Officer Christopher Bussey, a former EMT and search and rescue responder, arrived, he "climbed down the wall to the small patch of rocks Mr. Diaz had come to rest on," Mangan wrote.

Bussey tried to determine if Diaz had suffered any injuries and tried to prevent him from aggravating them, he said.

Firefighters then loaded Diaz into a rescue basket and hoisted him out of the river, according to Mangan's report.

Staff reporters Catherine Stollak and Mark Vogler contributed to this report.

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