Nutley Youth Has 'Crisis' Near Spot Where Bloomfield Teen Allegedly Committed Suicide

NUTLEY, NJ — Nutley police say that a local juvenile was reportedly seen standing in traffic and “attempting to harm himself” close to an overpass on the Garden State Parkway where a teenage girl from Bloomfield jumped to her death earlier this month.

According to the Nutley Police Department, officers responded to a call about a “juvenile in crisis” on Milton Avenue on Christmas Eve. Police said that the male juvenile was seen standing in traffic, apparently “in distress” and trying to harm himself by attempting to get cars to strike him.

Emergency responders transported the youth to a local hospital for evaluation, police said.

During the incident, the juvenile also walked near the overpass where just eight days earlier, 15-year-old Eva Smith of Bloomfield reportedly committed suicide, throwing herself onto the highway below, police said.

Following Smith’s death, her father labeled the incident a “suicide” and issued a plea for more awareness about mental health issues surrounding teen suicide.

In a video, Smith, his voice shaky, talked about how his daughter ran away from home.

"Someone in your life is hurting," he said. "Someone in your life is going through something and needs help. Help them. Don't ignore what's going on in that person's life."

• See related article: 'This Was Not A Joke:' N.J. Dad's Video Cry For Help After Daughter's Fatal Bridge Fall

File Photo: Flickr Commons