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Crawler uses old bridge to cross river
Psychiatric evaluation is sought
By Christine Pizzuti
Poughkeepsie Journal
An unidentified man, who crawled across the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge Wednesday, went peacefully with City of Poughkeepsie police before being transported to Saint Francis Hospital for psychiatric evaluation, police said.
"He was very cooperative," said Sgt. John Remsen, who climbed the bridge's tower ladder to offer the crawler some assistance.
He said the man refused the department's numerous attempts to communicate and continued on his hands and knees.
"He wanted to complete what he was doing," said Remsen, though it is still unclear what the man's goal was.
City of Poughkeepsie police received a call at 12:48 p.m. from Town of Lloyd police, notifying them of a man on the 212-foot-high bridge, which joins the Hudson River communities.
Alarm sounded
"We received a call from the alarm company by phone," Lloyd police dispatcher Scott Tasker said.
The property is owned by the nonprofit Walkway Over the Hudson, which plans to restore the fire-damaged bridge and open it for public use. Climbing onto the bridge is trespassing.
"I thought the bridge was on fire again," Poughkeepsie resident Denise Freeman said, referring to the surrounding commotion.
The bridge, which dates to the 19th century, has been closed since a 1974 fire.
In addition to the police, the City of Poughkeepsie Fire Department, Dutchess County Probation and an Alamo ambulance crew were on the scene.
Police closed off parts of Route 9, Delafield, Talmadge and Washington streets.
"In the event that he fell, we didn't want to add any more risk," Remsen said.
There were no injuries. Once the man reached the end of the bridge, he climbed over the fence onto the solid ground of Washington Street, where he was arrested.
"It's like a stray cat," said Shane Bartholomew, who works at Foreign Car Specialists, located next to the bridge. "It'll come down when it wants to come down."
Bartholomew said he saw the man crawling across, and every once in a while, he'd stand up briefly and then crouch back down to continue on his path.
"It's like he saw it as a goal," he said, "like climbing Mount Everest."
Moments before the man set foot on the soil, a small Coast Guard jet flew near to the ground, though the Coast Guard has no record of the flight.
Crawler uses old bridge to cross river
Psychiatric evaluation is sought
By Christine Pizzuti
Poughkeepsie Journal
An unidentified man, who crawled across the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge Wednesday, went peacefully with City of Poughkeepsie police before being transported to Saint Francis Hospital for psychiatric evaluation, police said.
"He was very cooperative," said Sgt. John Remsen, who climbed the bridge's tower ladder to offer the crawler some assistance.
He said the man refused the department's numerous attempts to communicate and continued on his hands and knees.
"He wanted to complete what he was doing," said Remsen, though it is still unclear what the man's goal was.
City of Poughkeepsie police received a call at 12:48 p.m. from Town of Lloyd police, notifying them of a man on the 212-foot-high bridge, which joins the Hudson River communities.
Alarm sounded
"We received a call from the alarm company by phone," Lloyd police dispatcher Scott Tasker said.
The property is owned by the nonprofit Walkway Over the Hudson, which plans to restore the fire-damaged bridge and open it for public use. Climbing onto the bridge is trespassing.
"I thought the bridge was on fire again," Poughkeepsie resident Denise Freeman said, referring to the surrounding commotion.
The bridge, which dates to the 19th century, has been closed since a 1974 fire.
In addition to the police, the City of Poughkeepsie Fire Department, Dutchess County Probation and an Alamo ambulance crew were on the scene.
Police closed off parts of Route 9, Delafield, Talmadge and Washington streets.
"In the event that he fell, we didn't want to add any more risk," Remsen said.
There were no injuries. Once the man reached the end of the bridge, he climbed over the fence onto the solid ground of Washington Street, where he was arrested.
"It's like a stray cat," said Shane Bartholomew, who works at Foreign Car Specialists, located next to the bridge. "It'll come down when it wants to come down."
Bartholomew said he saw the man crawling across, and every once in a while, he'd stand up briefly and then crouch back down to continue on his path.
"It's like he saw it as a goal," he said, "like climbing Mount Everest."
Moments before the man set foot on the soil, a small Coast Guard jet flew near to the ground, though the Coast Guard has no record of the flight.
