Updated: 3:34 PM PST, February 05, 2021
Elmwood Police Chief Michael Foligno grabbed a red kayak and clawed his way 50 yards into the frozen river to help save the infant and her mother, who were barely holding on.
A mother and her 2-year-old daughter who fell into the frigid waters of the Passaic River were rescued by a hero police chief who jumped into action, according to a report.
Elmwood Police Chief Michael Foligno grabbed a red kayak and clawed his way 50 yards into the frozen river to help save the toddler and her mother, 37, who were barely holding on. She was basically holding the baby with one arm and keeping herself afloat with the other, Elmwood Park Police Chief Michael Foligno told WCBS. ”Thirty seconds felt like 10 minutes. The mother was screaming. She said she couldn t hold the child anymore. I couldn t sit still and do nothing.
Elmwood Police Chief Micahel Foligno was sitting at his desk when the call from Hot came in. Within minutes, he was at the scene, but there was no apparatus to use to help get the woman and child ashore. The mother was screaming, I can t hold her anywhere, I can t hold on anymore, and I couldn t sit still, said Foligno.
He grabbed a red kayak that a gas station attendant had brought from across the street. He went onto the ice, having to break through it as he clawed his way 50 yards into the frozen river, where the woman was fighting to hold on. It is believed the pair may have been in the water for around 40 minutes.
Moment New Jersey police chief claws his way across frozen river in a kayak to rescue two-year-old girl and her mother after they fell through the ice
A 37-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter fell through ice on Passaic River between Elmwood Park and Paterson, New Jersey, on Thursday
Elmwood Park Police Chief Michael Foligno arrived on the scene and borrowed a kayak to try to rescue the mom and child from the frigid water
Foligno used his hands to claw his way to the victims, who were 50 to 75 yards from shore, and pulled them into the plastic kayak
Firefighter in wetsuit arrived and waded into the river to pull the kayak to safety