On Friday, August 3, NYPD Officer Jessie Ferreira Cavallo was on her way to work when she saw a 12-year-old boy jump off a highway overpass. Immediately, she knew what she had to do: she pulled her car over to the side of the road, filled her pockets with first aid materials, and made the same jump to save his life.
Cavallo wasn't even thinking as she took her heroic leap:
Everything happened so fast and I think my adrenaline was pumping so high.
A true public defender, her only thought was of the injured boy:
I wasn't thinking too much. I just knew, when I looked down and saw him ... he looked dead. I couldn't see anything other than blood. I thought to myself, 'He needs help. I need to help him.'
Another woman in uniform also stopped to help and, together, the pair were able to apply first aid to the unresponsive youth and get him out of the road. Though the boy seemed unable to speak, the women applied a neck brace, put a splint on his arm, and checked his airways.
The boy is now in a hospital, where he is expected to recover from "a broken arm, broken nose and leg injuries." Though from the Bronx in New York, he had reportedly just left the Yonkers campus of Andrus, "a private, nonprofit organization that provides services for vulnerable children, children with special needs, and children with severe emotional and behavior issues." Andrus staff followed the boy and were speaking with him when he leapt from the bridge.
Laura Yakaboski, a Yonkers police officer, also saw the scene and stopped to help. It wasn't until the next day that Cavallo fully understood her extreme actions:
Friday, after this whole thing happened, I went to work and worked to 11 p.m. I didn't realize what was going on until yesterday," she said Sunday. "That's when it hit me. I didn't realize how high it was. It seemed doable. It didn't seem that high. I thought I jumped over a brick wall, or a cement barrier. It was so fast. It was more like tunnel vision. I saw the boy and I needed to get to him. I didn't see anything else.
Cavallo plans on visiting the hospital soon to see how the boy is doing:
I just hope that he's doing well. I just want to give him a hug.
The world could use more police officers like Cavallo. In her seven years on the force, she's received "six lifesaving awards," and "has also been recognized for undercover work with the FBI and a county task force."
Thank you for going above and beyond to keep us safe, Officer Cavallo!
H/T - USA Today, Miami Herald
