Individual Rescued After Sustaining Injuries From Weeks Bridge Jump

An individual was rescued from the Charles River by the Cambridge Fire Department after suffering injuries from jumping off the John W. Weeks Bridge early Sunday morning.

The Cambridge Police Department assisted the fire department’s Dive Rescue Team and Marine Unit, which also responded to the scene. The incident prompted a large emergency response late at night as at least five fire trucks, two ambulances and multiple police vehicles swarmed the area around 12:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Two members of the Dive Rescue Team entered the water to retrieve the individual from the middle of the Charles River. The individual was then transported to a medical facility by ambulance.

CPD and Harvard University Police Department spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday.

The incident comes at the end of the second day of the Head of The Charles Regatta, which attracts hundreds of thousands of people to the heart of Harvard’s campus for one of the most famous rowing competitions in North America. Weeks Bridge is a popular viewing point for spectators.

Multiple eyewitnesses said they witnessed the individual jumping from Weeks Bridge, which is known among Harvard undergraduates to be a College tradition.

While some students believe that jumping off Weeks Bridge is a bucket-list item that must be completed prior to graduation, law enforcement authorities have long discouraged students from jumping into the river.

—Staff writer Asher J. Montgomery can be reached at asher.montgomery@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @asherjmont or on Threads @asher_montgomery.