Late-Night Jump Off Ocean City-Longport Bridge Results in Four Arrests

What appears to be a late-night adventure by two young men ended with their arrest and the arrests of two other friends.

A toll attendant on the Ocean City-Longport Bridge called Ocean City police at 1:27 a.m today (Sept. 12) to report that a person had just jumped off the bridge into the Great Egg Harbor Inlet below, according to Ocean City Police Capt. Steven Ang.

The toll attendant had spoken to the young man at the top of the bridge before he jumped.

The bridge was designed to have 65 feet of vertical clearance for boats, according to the Cape May County Bridge Commission, so a leap from the top would likely be from more than 70 feet (more than twice the distance of a 10-meter Olympic diving platform).

The first police officers to arrive saw nobody in the water and saw a small inflatable boat heading away from the bridge toward the mainland.

Police requested the assistance of the Coast Guard, New Jersey State Police Marine Unit, Egg Harbor Twp. Police, Somers Point Police and Longport Police Marine Unit.

Responders watched the boat heading back toward Ocean City in the direction of a sailboat that was anchored near the Intracoastal Waterway, just west of the 200 block of Bay Avenue.

The small boat then tied up to the anchored sailboat, Ang said. At the same time, responding units were still involved in a search-and-rescue operation attempting to determine what happened to the person seen jumping off the bridge.

The Coast Guard responded and assisted with the investigation. The Coast Guard and two Ocean City police officers approached and boarded the sailboat. 

The officers located four subjects on the sailboat, Ang said. All were questioned about the incident.

Two of the subjects were identified as the persons who allegedly jumped off the bridge into the water, Ang said. One subject was positively identified by the witness, he said.

It was also determined that no other persons were in the water and that all involved were accounted for and safely on board the sailboat.

All four were taken into custody and charged with the following offenses:

• Jason E. Kelly, 26, of Medford, NJ; and Erick Pelkofsky, 22, of Springfield, PA, were charged with false public alarm (3rd degree) and obstruction (4th degree). 
• Justin J. Theno, 24, of New Gretna, NJ; and Michael H. Rybas, 28, Bensalem, PA, were charged with false public alarm (3rd degree)

All four were released on summonses.