Vessel sculpture Hudson Yards suicide. What led to Peter DeSalvo Sacred Heart, 19yr old freshman jumping to his death? Incident follows architectural structure opening in March.
NYC authorities have told of a 19 year old teen, former high-school rugby star, Peter DeSalvo Sacred Heart freshman leaping to his death Saturday from the Vessel sculpture in Hudson Yards.
The ‘incident’ was witnessed by dozens of tourists shortly after nightfall at around 6 p.m.
At 150-foot the structure has up to 80 landings -or 2,500 steps – which visitors can trek during visiting hours.
The young man’s death marked first suicide at the climbable landmark since it opened in March.
Screams of horror rose from the crowd one witness told via the nypost.
One witness took off his own jacket after running to the young victim, ‘and put it right over [the victim’s] face,’ said Marita Salkowski, 50, of Kentucky.
Officials asked everyone to leave the structure, and ‘everybody was really quiet walking down the steps,’ she said.
‘Some people had tears in their eyes. My daughter and I went over to the side and said a prayer for him.’
DeSalvo was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital, according to police.
Man, 19, jumps to his death off the 150-foot Vessel sculpture in Hudson Yards https://t.co/OO8bMvq0Cr pic.twitter.com/YOY04QhTQF
— EXYZ (@EXYZ14) February 2, 2020
‘He was a tough kid, not afraid of anything,’
DeSalvo was a Sacred Heart University freshman and lineman from Basking Ridge, NJ.
‘He was a tough kid, not afraid of anything,’ his ex-coach, Simon Perry told the nypost on Sunday.
‘He is seemingly the most unlikely of cases for suicide,’ Perry reiterated.
The teen’s parents ‘are the nicest people, absolute sweethearts. He was their only child,’ added the high school coach. ‘He was doing great in school. He was playing rugby at Sacred Heart. I’m going to ask to have Pete’s jersey retired.’
A law-enforcement source said that according to video and witnesses, the teen was by himself when he ‘got on a railing and jumped off from the sixth floor’ of the West 33rd Street structure, also known as ‘The Hive’ because of its beehive-like appearance.
The large architectural structure was unveiled to the public on March 15, 2019 and cost a $200million to erect.
The entire Hudson Yards development came with a price tag of $25billion after 10 years of development.
It remains unclear how the teen came to jump off the newly opened attraction and the moments leading up to his demise. Also unclear is how the teen was able to make his way off the ledge unimpeded?
Security workers at the winding structure Sunday said that there were no extra measures in place and that they were not aware of anything that might be instituted in the wake of its first suicide.
This sculpture named the Vessel opens to the public at the heart of #NewYorkCity’s $25 billion Hudson Yards development pic.twitter.com/VKIevYKeZd
— China News 中国新闻网 (@Echinanews) March 15, 2019
