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Insane Video Of BASE Jumpers' 1 World Trade Center Dive
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 25, 2014
Modified Mar 25, 2014
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 25, 2014
Modified Mar 25, 2014
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Hours after it was reported that a trio of men dove off 1 World Trade Center in a 1,368-foot BASE jump last September, the men, plus a friend who served as lookout, turned themselves into the police yesterday. Apparently the NYPD Intelligence Division and the Port Authority Police Department had been investigating the incident for the past five and a half months. Guess the GoPro video that one of the jumpers took is pretty incriminating—it shows two men jumping from the building, with the camera attached to one jumper who is seen landing on the West Side Highway, just south of Chambers Street, and scurrying to hide.
Apparently a Goldman Sachs security guard saw some of the jumpers and reported it. The police say, "This investigation involved an extensive review of video footage from the area around the World Trade Center site, as well as other electronic and photographic evidence. Additional evidence was seized as a result of search warrants issued with the assistance of the New York County District Attorney’s Office." The NY Times reports that "detectives identified some of the men and obtained warrants to search their homes" in January, which "turned up videotapes of the stunt."
James Brady, 32 (a construction worker at 1 World Trade Center); Andrew Rossig, 33; Marko Markovich, 26; and Kyle Hartwell, 29 were charged with reckless endangerment, burglary and BASE jumping for the September 30, 2013 incident. (Burglary is a felony, while reckless endangerment and BASE jumping are misdemeanors.) In the criminal complaint Detective Driton Gashi states, "I have seen video footage that shows defendants James Brady, Andrew Rossig, and Marko Markovich jump from the steel support rings on the 105th floor of One World Trade Center, deploy parachutes during their descent, and land on the open streets below where drivers and pedestrians were traveling, thereby creating a substantial risk of serious physical injury to those people."
Hartwell acted as the lookout, who also filmed the jump and drove the others away; Gashi said, "I have also seen video footage taken after the jump that shows the four defendants gathered around defendant Hartwell’s truck on Greenwich Street."
One of their lawyers said they were only charged because of the 16-year-old boy's break-in to the top of 1 World Trade Center, and that the Port Authority and NYPD are embarrassed: "They are accused of sneaking into the World Trade Center, going through quite possibly the same hole in the fence that this kid climbed through last week that they never fixed, going to the top and parachuting off."
Rossig said, "We just kind of walked in. t’s supposed to be the most secure building in the world. God forbid it was somebody else getting in there with a real intention to harm New Yorkers." He added that he didn't mean any disrespect to the victims of the September 11 attacks and their families, "For me it kind of brings back how temporary life is, we all get into our cars every day, we cross the street and we don’t think about it … It just kind of puts things into perspective for me." He pointed out, "We’re BASE jumpers, it's the biggest building in the Western Hemisphere… It’s a fair amount of free fall time. You really get to enjoy the view of the city and see it from a different perspective."
Police Commissioner Bratton said “These men violated the law and placed themselves, as well as others, in danger. These arrests should send a message to anyone thinking about misusing a landmark this way. They will be tracked down and they will face serious charges. Being a thrill-seeker does not give immunity from the law."
Their bail was set at $3500 cash or bond each and they must surrender their passports.
Update: The Port Authority's Chief Security Officer Joseph Dunne issued a statement, "The Port Authority joins the NYPD in condemning this lawless and selfish act that clearly endangered the public. One of the jumpers worked construction at the WTC and violated the spirit of respect and reverence for this sacred site that almost all connected with the WTC project feel. It should be clear that the PAPD and NYPD will go to any length to bring those who defile the WTC site to justice."
Tagged
1 WTC
9/11
andrew rossig
base jumping
james brady
kyle hartwell
marko markovich
nypd
port authority
world trade center
wtc
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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