Elmwood Park police chief rescues mother and child from icy Passaic River

The Elmwood Park chief of police pulled off a daring rescue when a mother and child became stuck in the icy Passaic River.

News 12 Staff

Feb 8, 2021, 1:39 PM

Updated 1,405 days ago

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The Elmwood Park chief of police pulled off a daring rescue when a mother and child became stuck in the icy Passaic River.
Chief Michael Foligno says that he heard the mother’s screams and sprang into action. He took a kayak from a nearby gas station and clawed his way over the frozen water.
“The mother was screaming. She was saying she couldn’t hold the child anymore. I couldn’t sit still and do nothing,” he says.
The chief says that he got the mother and her child into the boat and was able to warm the freezing child.
A firefighter in a wetsuit then came and got all of them out of the river.
It was not yet clear how the mother and child ended up in the river.