Rescuers found a 16-year-old boy from Fort Lee who fell off a cliff in Fort Lee’s section of the Palisades Interstate Park, near the George Washington Bridge late Friday, but he had died from injuries in the fall.
A rappel team from East Bergen was called after the teen fell off the cliff around 9:45 p.m. Friday, said Fort Lee Fire Chief Keith Sabatino. Rescuers used a fire department tower ladder truck and helicopter team to reach the victim.
Police said emergency crews had difficulty due to the time of night, remote location, and cliff-side hazards presented with reaching the teen.
The teen was walking with a 16-year-old girl from Edgewater when the incident occurred, according to Palisades Interstate Parkway police. The girl, who called 911 when the fall took place, told police that she and her friend were near the edge of the cliff when he fell backward — going over the cliff.
Police said the cause of the fall is not considered suspicious but is still under investigation. The actual cause of death is still under investigation by the Medical Examiner’s Office.
Police said they did determine that the victim was beyond a safety railing which was put in place to prevent people from being near the unsafe area of the cliff’s edge.
Emergency crews remained at the scene, near the GWB’s north tower, early Saturday. Teams from the Fort Lee Fire Department, Port Authority Police and NYPD Emergency Service Units, Cliffside Park Fire Department and Teaneck Fire Department were at the scene.
