After Being Buried Alive in World Trade Center’s Wreckage, Firefighter Had 4 Words for Police Officer (Exclusive)
Port Authority Police Officer Will Jimeno recounts his harrowing experience surviving 13 hours trapped under the World Trade Center rubble on September 11, 2001. He reflects on the physical and emotional trauma of the event, including the loss of his colleagues and his long road to recovery.
Why it matters
This personal account provides a human perspective on the lasting physical and psychological impacts of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on first responders.
NEED TO KNOW Port Authority Police Officer Will Jimeno was pulled from beneath rubble on Sept. 11, 2001
He spent 13 hours pinned beneath a slab of concrete and was gravely wounded
Jimeno was rushed to Bellevue Hospital in New York City, where he underwent eight surgeries
After rescuers finally pulled Port Authority Police Officer Will Jimeno from beneath the rubble of the collapsed World Trade Center towers late on Sept. 11, 2001 — following 13 hours pinned beneath a slab of concrete and gravely wounded — he looked up at the late-night sky.
"Where is everything?" Jimeno asked a firefighter.
Speaking to PEOPLE now, Jimeno says,"That's the first time I cried. I didn't cry when I got hurt. I didn't cry when the guys died," referring to partners Dominick Pezzulo, Antonio Rodrigues and Christopher Amoroso, who'd been by his side when the towers crumbled.
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