Dutchess men lauded for helping to prevent suicide

Town leaders on Thursday thanked Dutchess County residents Sean Nestler and Eric Letterio for stepping up to save the life of a man who was threatening suicide on the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge.

Supervisor James Quigley said the thoughtful action on June 29 provided enough time for police to arrive on the scene.

“Both men, sensing that immediate action was necessary, stopped their vehicles and approached the distraught subject as the subject told them he was going to jump,” Quigley said during Thursday’s meeting of the Town Board.

Quigley said the men’s decision to stop was significant because there were a lot of drivers who chose to not provide assistance.

“I’d venture to say there [were] ... maybe a hundred cars that passed that scene,” he said. “You were two people who cared enough to stop to render assistance to an individual who is probably here today because of your assistance.”

Quigley also read a police report that acknowledged Officer Gary Short for talking the suicidal man off the bridge railing.

The bridge rises 210 feet above the Hudson River between the towns of Ulster and Rhinebeck.

“Officer Short maintained the utmost professionalism while calmly talking to the victim,” the supervisor said. “Through this incident, Officer Short was able to connect with the victim on a personal level and started to gain his trust, ensuring him that we were there to help.”

Letterio, a Hyde Park resident, and Nestler, a Milan resident, said after the meeting that they were on their way home from work, in separate vehicles, about 8:40 p.m. June 29 when they saw the man and made instant decisions to try to help talk him off the rail.

They said police arrived about four minutes later but that it felt like much longer.

“It seemed like for forever,” Letterio said. “I was looking at people driving by and saying ‘911.’ So people probably called, and the last thing on our mind was we have to make a phone call.”

The men said Nestler grabbed the person’s belt when he looked at Letterio about a minute after they arrived.

“I had a plan at that point that if he made any attempt to go [off the railing], I was going to go for it and pull him completely off the rail,” Letterio said. “No holding on to him. Just bear hug the guy.”

Letterio and Nestler said it took about 15 minutes of conversation with Officer Short before the man voluntarily came off the railing.

Nestler said one troubling part of the incident was the number of drivers who opted to use their cell phones for something other than making an emergency call.

“A hundred people drove past and, to tell the truth, a good 75 to 80 percent of them had their phones up taking video,” he said.

Nestler noted that driving over the KingstonRhinecliff Bridge was a diversion from his normal route home.

“I was on a job in Newburgh,” he said. “Usually I take the Taconic [State Parkway], but that night I got on the Thruway and took [Route] 209 home.”