A Good Samaritan and a police officer sprung into action when someone tossed a kitten from the window of a moving car on the Walt Whitman Bridge last week.
Jean Finizio was headed to work in New Jersey when she saw a kitten running in the median of the bridge.
"We were inching along the bridge when I saw the kitten, I almost didn't believe what I saw," explains Finizio, who then pulled over to try and get the kitten to jump into her car. She heard the cat crying from outside the car and when she got out to locate the kitten, she found it clinging her back tire.
Delaware River Port Authority Officer Richie Ridolfi coincidentally happened to be crossing the bridge headed toward Philadelphia at the same time a call was made about a kitten being thrown from a car window.
"I'm the biggest animal lover," Ridolfi said. "As soon as I get a call about any animal on the bridge, I'm the first person to get there."
Ridolfi sprung into action and found Finizio in the middle of the bridge. The two were going to do whatever it took to get the kitten to safety.
Police Officer, Samaritan Rescue Kitten Tossed from Moving Car
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Finizio explained to Ridolfi that as she pulled over on the bridge to avoid hitting the kitten, the small, frightened animal jumped into her tire well.
"I laid on the ground, in the middle of the bridge, under the car trying to reach for the cat, but she must have gotten scared and she ended up crawling into the undercarriage," Ridolfi recounted.
After the unsuccessful rescue, traffic began to build, and the group decided it would be best to move the car to the end of the bridge to retrieve the kitten.
"I had a police escort all the way to the Camden service station but I was so scared of what could happen to the kitten, I could hear it crying from the engine," said Finizio, "It's unnerving, I'm a cat lover and the last thing I wanted was to hurt it."
After reaching a parking lot at the end of the bridge, the group was able to rescue the kitten from the car's undercarriage.
After getting a few cute photos to share the story, Finizio and Ridolfi agreed the little kitten needed to be checked out and find a good home.
"I took her to Philadelphia Animal Hospital to make sure she was not injured or sick, and I took a few photos to post on Facebook to see if anyone was interested in adopting the her," said Ridolfi, who offered to pay for all of the vet fees in return for a good home for the kitten.
The kitten, appropriately named "Bridgette," is now living comfortably at her new home.
Police have not tracked down the person responsible for throwing the kitten from the car.
