October 27, 2025 COLLEGE POINT, QUEENS — A shocking scene unfolded in Hermon A. MacNeil Park this past Sunday, turning a day of community celebration into a life-or-death drama. As volunteers prepared for a local parade and festival, the festive atmosphere was shattered by screams. Eyewitnesses reported seeing a woman enter the turbulent waters of the East River, deliberately walking with her five-month-old baby girl into the deep.
The crisis immediately drew the attention of those nearby, including retired police officer Paul Pinsdorf, who was in the park setting up. Hearing the frantic shouts, Pinsdorf sprinted toward the water's edge and saw the unimaginable: a woman submerged up to her neck, still moving deeper with the infant.
Time was critical. Suspecting the distraught mother was attempting a murder-suicide, Pinsdorf knew he couldn't wait for official emergency response. He plunged into the river without hesitation.
"I saw the woman in the water with the baby. We called 911. I went in the water, she resisted me—her mind was lost," Pinsdorf later recounted.
Facing the woman’s intense resistance, the former officer was forced to physically overpower her to secure the child and pull the mother back to safety. "I had to manhandle...pull her back. She resisted the whole time," he said.
His swift, heroic actions were the only thing separating the mother and child from tragedy.
First responders, alerted by the initial 911 call, arrived quickly. The baby was rushed to a local hospital and is currently reported to be in stable condition. The mother was transported to North Shore University Hospital for psychological evaluation following the harrowing incident.
