A wall from the collapsed World Trade Center crushed Will Jimeno when he was stuck beneath the rubble of the fallen towers. Fireballs had burned his arm, and a fellow cop, Dominick Pezzulo, laid dead beside him. At one point, about 15 bullets from Pezzulo’s gun were triggered and flew past Jimeno’s head.
“It was like your worst nightmare times three million,” Jimeno tells PEOPLE for the 20th anniversary of 9/11. “I was so thirsty. And I closed my eyes and I wanted to die.”
But Jimeno stayed alive after al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked two jets and slammed into the Twin Towers, killing 2,753 people in New York City. As night fell, Jimeno heard voices in the distance: “United States Marine Corps. Can anybody hear us? Yell or tap.”
“I looked up and I asked where everything was,” he says. “I could see the moon, I could see the sky, I could see fire and smoke, but I couldn’t see the buildings. And a firefighter said, ‘It’s all gone, kid.’ This was the first time I cried that night.”
His sergeant, John McLoughlin, was pulled out alive the next morning, the pair among just a handful who survived being trapped in the collapse.
“I’m reminded about it every day,” Jimeno, 53, says, “just the fact that I look at my wounds on my leg.”
Will Jimeno.Will Jimeno
Jimeno would undergo multiple surgeries, resulting in “major scars,” and many months of rehabilitation. His left foot doesn’t work — a muscular weakness or paralysis syndrome called foot drop. The injuries forced him to retire early in 2004 and leave the career he’d dreamed about.
The psychological pains have been harder to deal with. The Chester, New Jersey resident has post-traumatic stress disorder, which he’s dealt with through therapy and sharing his story with adults and school children. Oliver Stone made a movie, World Trade Center, about the ordeal, with Michael Peña playing Jimeno.
And book writing has also helped. Jimeno just released the illustrated children’s tale,Immigrant,American,Survivor, and his memoir,Sunrise Through the Darkness, about dealing with trauma and the good he’s seen in people.
“Every day that I get up, I take a moment to thank God that I’m alive,” he says, “and I think about how I survived this.”
Apple picking with family, 2003.Will Jimeno
“Will had always wanted to be a police officer and he tried very hard to become one and it took him six years to finally achieve his goal,” his wife, Allison, shares in an email.
That dream to serve began as he grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey after arriving with his parents from Colombia in 1970 when he was just 2.
“I just fell in love with the United States,” Jimeno says. “My mom instilled in me that being an immigrant is a proud thing and to bring our heritage, but to use that heritage to make this country a better place.”
Will Jimeno and daughter in 2000.Will Jimeno
He was stationed outside that beautiful, summer-like day, observing foot traffic when a sergeant pointed up in the air.
“I saw a shadow come literally just cover the intersection,” Jimeno says. “I didn’t think anything of it and went back to doing my job.”
Will Jimeno receiving rehabilitation.Will Jimeno
“Those are terrorists,” a sergeant yelled, Jimeno recalls.
He and about 20 other officers piled into a bus and sped down to the Twin Towers. By the time they arrived, the second plane had hit.
“When we got off the bus, it looked like a war zone, Armageddon,” he says.
Will Jimeno holding his new children’s book with co-author.Will Jimeno
As Jimeno and his colleagues worked to gather equipment to begin rescuing people, “We heard a humongous boom.”
“I saw a fireball the size of my house,” he says. “It sounded like a million freight trains coming down on us. Then all of a sudden, everything just went silent and dark.”
Tower 1, also known as the South Tower, had collapsed. Two of the officers he was with were dead. Less than 30 minutes later, the North Tower, or Tower 2, would also crumble, killing a third officer, Dominick Pezzulo, in the “concrete cocoon.”
“We didn’t ever know the buildings were coming down on us,” Jimeno says. “We never knew.”
“I did think early on about ending my life,” he says. “You go through such a tragic event, you lose partners, and you ask yourself … again, that survivor’s guilt. Why me? Why am I alive and not them?”
He also had post-traumatic stress disorder that came out as anger. Years of therapy, sharing his story and the unwavering support of Allison and his family has helped.
At talks, Jimeno shares his story to help others who may feel shame over their own mental health struggles.
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“You’re not alone and it’s okay,” he says. “You just need to talk to somebody to make sure you can address these issues and make sure that you do the best for your wellness.”
“There’s good in this world,” Jimeno adds. “That’s what I want people to remember about Sept. 11.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go tosuicidepreventionlifeline.org.
source: people.com
