Father jumps from bridge with 2 children in New Jersey

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Father jumps from bridge with 2 children
Dray Clark has details on a family tragedy in New Jersey.

WANAQUE, New Jersey (WABC) -- A father jumped from a bridge into woods near Wanaque River in New Jersey with his two children on Monday night.

The father, identified as John Spincken, 37, of Pequannock, died, but his sons are expected to survive.

Police said that at 6:55 p.m., they were called to a home on Greenview Drive in Pequannock, N.J. The mother of the two boys said that she and Spincken were arguing and he told her that he was going to harm the children.

He then took the boys and drove off with them, according to the New Jersey State Police.

Around 8 p.m., state troopers said they were notified that a suicidal man may have jumped from the Wanaque Bridge with his two sons. They discovered Spincken's unoccupied car on southbound Interstate 287 in Wanaque.

Wanaque Police officers found Spincken and his two children in a wooded area near the Wanaque River. Spincken was pronounced dead at the scene around 9 p.m.

The two children were taken to St. Joseph's Medical Center in Paterson where they were treated for serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.

Police said have determined that Spincken intentionally jumped with his two children. The investigation remains active.