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A motorist called police from northbound Route 21 just after 10:30 a.m. and said she saw the Newark woman standing waist-deep in the muddy river, Capt. John Valente said.
Responding officers spotted her 50 to 75 feet west of the river bank -- then jumped in after she ignored their commands to return to shore, Valente said.
Lt. Michael Carrino who donned a life vest, entered the water and pulled the victim out while Officers Paul Haggerty, Phil Reina, Nick Abruscato and Steve Batista assisted in returning both to the riverbank, he said.
"Making the rescue more difficult was the fact that the river was at low tide, forcing the officers to traverse the muddy shore line to the water’s edge," the captain said.
The woman was alert and conscious when EMS took her to Hackensack University Medical Center for further care by Lyndhurst EMS, Valente said.
Lyndhurst firefighters assisted in decontaminating the heroes, he said.
Although none were seriously injured, Carrino was sent to HUMC as a precaution given that he'd been in the cold river.
Curiously, authorities reported a woman jumping into the Passaic River from a bridge in Kearny follwing a 6:30 a.m. car crash.
Police and fireighters there rescued the woman, who was hospitalized.
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