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NJ dad jumps from bridge holding 2 kids; he dies, they live

Posted at 11:25 AM, Oct 25, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-25 11:25:27-04

Two toddlers are recovering from their injuries and their father is dead after he apparently leaped from a bridge in New Jersey holding his kids, state police said.

Police said the incident took place on the Interstate 287 overpass near the Wanaque River in the northern part of the state.

Officers were called to a residence about 7 p.m. Monday after getting a report of a domestic dispute, according to a statement released by Capt. Christopher DePuyt of the Pequannock Township Police Department.

The woman there told officers that she had argued with her husband and he threatened to harm the children. He had then taken off with their 1-year-old and 3-year-old boys in his car, the statement said.

Authorities tracked down the vehicle using the GPS signal on the man’s phone, DePuyt said.

They found the car on the shoulder of Interstate 287 on a bridge. Police then found the two children, injured but conscious, in a wooded area beneath the bridge.

The father, found in the same location, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Investigators believe the man intentionally jumped.

The children are being treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a local hospital.