Community mourning after man jumps from Yonkers building, lands on person below
YONKERS, New York (WABC) -- A community in Westchester County is reeling after a distraught man took his own life by jumping off a building and landing on 61-year-old man, killing them both.
Residents in the neighborhood say it's not the first time tragedy has happened at that building.
"I just seen them on the floor, they was lying there before the police came," one witness said.
But there was nothing that could be done. Two men are now dead. One by taking his life, the other an unfortunate victim of the suicidal act.
It happened around 6 p.m. Monday night at the Cromwell Towers, a 12-story high rise in Yonkers.
A 25-year-old man jumped from the roof and landed on a 61-year-old man standing on the plaza below.
"The male was in mental crisis, he had been cutting himself, 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," Yonkers Police Commissioner John Mueller said.
The identity of both men is being with withheld.
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The 25-year-old is said to have special needs. The 61-year-old who was struck, lived in the Bronx and was visiting a friend in the building.
"He was a friend of a friend, he came here to visit him and made his way back home, as he walked out the building ... spontaneously, someone falls from the sky, you know and everyone is confused like what's going on. We thought it was a car crash but looked back and see the two people on the ground not moving," one witness said.
There was a small memorial at the plaza on Tuesday, where some residents complain about easy access to the roof.
No comment has been made from building management.
Police say there is no evidence of foul play and remind residents that there are a number of city, county and community group based mental health services available.
"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," Mueller said.
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) - for free confidential emotional support 24 hours a day 7 days a week. You can also reach the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or the Crisis Text Line by texting "START" to 741741.
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