Police say the 23-year-old climbed over a railing to get onto the pier on Sinatra Drive N. near 12th St. in Hoboken. Since there was snow, she did not realize there was a gap between the pier and the dock.
She fell more than 10 feet into the river and was waist deep in the water, clinging to a piece of metal.
"It was unsettling, and it was not safe for us to go out on the pier, because we didn't know if the pier was compromised, or if there was a hole," said Hoboken Police Officer Duke McCourt, "It was all covered with snow, and it was chaotic, and we're just happy everything worked out."
The police made the actual rescue by reaching into the hole while other officers held their legs.
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