It’s All in Hashem’s Hands, Says Husband of Woman Who Survived Niagara Cliff Fall

NEW YORK (VINnews/Sandy Eller) – Two weeks after surviving a fall off a cliff near Niagara Falls, a Crown Heights woman and her husband are sharing details of the incident at the advice of their rabbi, who counseled them to share what was clearly a modern-day miracle with the public.

Nasoniel Nerenberg told VIN News that he, his wife and their children were participating in a family reunion in Michigan when they decided to spend a few days at Niagara Falls along with his brothers from Australia and Florida and their families.

Having heard that the Niagara Glen trail which overlooks the Niagara River rapids and whirlpool on the Canadian side of the falls was particularly beautiful, the three families set out together to hike the trail falls on July 7th.

As the families made their way down the trail, some of the children began running ahead and Nerenberg went ahead to supervise, with his expectant wife Nechama walking a short distance behind with their almost eight year old daughter.

Nerenberg said that the trail was rocky at some points and ventured into the water at others, eventually climbing higher above the river and Nechama Nerenberg had reached mile marker 28 when she tripped on the path in a wooded area.

In a 13 minute audio clip circulating on WhatsApp, Nechama Nerenberg described how she should have fallen on the path in front of her, but started sliding headfirst towards the edge of the cliff instead.

Grabbing a thick root as she neared the cliff modified her trajectory and she plunged feet first over the cliff towards the water far below.

“All of a sudden I heard my daughter scream ‘Mommy fell down the cliff!’” recalled Nasoniel Nerenberg. “There is no railing there and the one thing you don’t want to do there is fall – that is the worst-case scenario.”

Nerenberg raced to the scene and was shocked to hear his wife respond when he called her name, telling him that she was okay as she sat in an open area strewn with boulders.

Nerenberg reached first responders in Buffalo, on the American side of the falls when he called 911 and was several times until he was connected with Niagara Parks officials.

Niagara Parks Police Service Chief of Police Paul Forcier confirmed to VIN news, that members of its service were involved in the incident, declining to release additional information for reasons of privacy.

Three men familiar with the terrain were able to make their way down the cliff from a safer part of the trail, applying pressure to Nechama Nerenberg’s head wound and sitting with her for more than an hour until emergency crews arrived at the scene.

Over a dozen firemen carrying rescue gear hiked a full mile into the trail to the spot where the family stood, tying a rope to a tree and lowering a rescuer down the cliff to where Nechama Nerenberg sat near the fast-moving waters of the rapids.

A tour boat that had been emptied of passengers was sent to the scene to bring Nechama Nerenberg back ashore and she was transported by ambulance to Niagara Health’s St. Catherines Site.

Doctors at the hospital did a sonogram to verify that Nechama Nerenberg’s baby’s heart was still beating and diagnosed her with a fractured spine in addition to attending to various scrapes and bruises.

She was discharged from the hospital one day later, and was well enough to return to Detroit to spend Shabbos with her extended family before returning home to Crown Heights.

Her miraculous fall from the Niagara cliff marks the second time this year that Nechama Nerenberg, who works as a doula, made headlines.

Her husband identified her as the anonymous homeowner who chased two porch pirates away from her house after shaming them into returning the pilfered goods, as previously reported on VIN News.

Being able to tell the world about her Niagara trail experience has left Nechama Nerenberg feeling incredibly blessed.

The Niagara Falls Chabad shaliach concurred with that assessment when he visited her in the hospital, asking her to explain how she survived what should have been a deadly fall.

“Whatever it was, I shouldn’t have lived,” said Nechama Nerenberg.

Reflecting on the incident two weeks later, one lesson in particular stood out for Nasoniel Nerenberg.

“It’s all in Hashem’s hands,” said Nerenberg.