NEW YORK, April 4 (UPI) -- A 2-year-old girl who fell 20 feet into New York's East River is safe after being rescued by her father with an assist from a Frenchman, authorities say.
David Anderson of California and his daughter, identified by sources as Bridgette Sheriden, were walking on the gangplank to the historic four-mast Peking ship Saturday when she somehow got through the railing and tumbled into the frigid waters, the New York Daily News reported. Anderson didn't hesitate, witnesses said, racing to the pier, scaling a fence and leaping in after her. He pulled her back to the surface and an unidentified man from France got into the water to help pull them to safety.
"He jumped in like a scene out of a movie," Eric Stringer, 34, told the Daily News. "He was pulling things out of his pockets as he was running down the steps. He didn't hesitate."
Bridgette was taken to a hospital to be checked out and was released a few hours later.
Bridgette's mother, who declined to give her name, expressed gratitude for the help of the Frenchman who left the scene in a cab minutes after the rescue, saying she'd "liked to offer him my congratulations and best wishes, and I want to talk to him personally."
