A man who threatened his girlfriend with a knife early Sunday fell to his death after losing his footing on the fire escape as he tried to climb back into their Bronx apartment, police said.
Pedro Polanco, 27, and his 36-year-old girlfriend had friends at their flat on 182nd St. near Mapes Ave. in Belmont when they began fighting around 3:30 a.m. He repeatedly pushed her and flashed an intimidating blade, according to cops.
After she demanded he leave the fifth-floor apartment, where they live with their two young children, he climbed from the roof onto the fire escape — a familiar re-entry route he’d traveled before, according to officials.
But this time he lost his footing and accidentally fell, police said.
Medics discovered Polanco conscious and alert, but with severe trauma to his lower body, police said. They rushed him to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he died an hour later.
Polanco’s girlfriend was not seriously hurt. Cops continued to investigate the incident on Sunday, but said they do not suspect foul play.
Polanco’s mom, Francisca Garcia, said his girlfriend called her after an ambulance took him away.
“She said, ‘Please forgive me,’ ” Garcia said as she sobbed and dried her eyes with a wash cloth.
The dead man’s father, Pedro Polanco Jesus, said he’s still not sure if his son jumped or fell.
“We don’t know,” he said. “The police are still investigating.”
In addition to his kids in the Bronx, a boy, 4, and a girl, 2, Polanco has two children in his native Dominican Republic, neighbors said.
Polanco’s parents live in a basement apartment in the same building.
Neighbors described Polanco as quiet and friendly.
“I saw him yesterday around 4 or 5 o’clock. He was standing right here,” said neighbor Jose Fernandez, 57.
“He didn’t talk much, he was quiet. I said ‘What’s wrong with you, you don’t talk? Christmas is coming, you better be happy”.
Source: NY Daily News – Man fatally falls from fire escape after fight with girlfriend
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