"I just remember his body moving to the sounds of the bullet and then into the water,” Andrea Maldonado says.
That was the last time Andrea Maldonado saw her husband. Police shot 36-year-old Miguel Maldonado; a shooting the Dauphin County District Attorney now says, was justified.
Video of the dramatic rescue on the freezing Susquehanna River shows Andrea on top of her water submerged car, holding her two-year old daughter.
In an exclusive interview with CBS 21’s Jasmine Brooks, Andrea details that terrifying January night.
“I want people to know that Miguel wasn't a monster,” says Maldonado.
She says, her husband was battling demons for years and in the early hours of Sunday, January 16th, those demons won.
36-year-old Miguel Maldonado Jr. was shot by police after a long and dangerous night that culminated in this incredible rescue of his wife and two-year old daughter.
Brooks: “how did this all start?"
Maldonado: Miguel, the baby and I were all out and he asked if I would go to the hospital with him because he was having some pain in his right side. I said yes, so we went down to the Harrisburg hospital. We got there around 7pm, after we had eaten dinner. We checked in, he went for an EKG and he got blood work done."
But Andrea says, five-hours had gone by without word from medical staff.
Maldonado: “By midnight he was just really frustrated and overwhelmed and he didn't want to wait any longer."
Agitated and unhinged, Andrea says, Maldonado insisted he and his family leave the hospital.
Maldonado: "We turned onto 19th street just like any other night we were heading home and all of a sudden he looks over at me and it was like a totally different person. His eyes, I could see right through him, and all of a sudden he just started hitting me. That's what I thought he was doing. I didn't know at the time he had pulled out a knife and was stabbing me."
Andrea says, she was stabbed 13 times.
Maldonado: "In both of my hands multiple times, my shoulder was multiple times, across my chin right here and then a couple times across my chest."
Brooks: "Do you think he was trying to kill you?"
Maldonado: “Yes I do, but not me as a person if that makes sense. He really thought I was someone else."
Andrea says her husband suffered from mental illness and used drugs to self-medicate.
During his violent rage, Andrea says Maldonado crashed into a light pole.
Her priority was getting her daughter out of harm’s way.
Maldonado: “He grabbed a hold of her leg and he's like you're not taking my daughter. So I got into the backseat with my daughter out of her car seat and at that time I did try to call 911, but he hung the phone up."
That's when Andrea says, Maldonado headed for the Dock Street Dam.
Maldonado: “At no point did I ever think we're going to down there and end up in the river. It was a split second decision. As I’m dialing 911, I was paying attention to my phone. The next thing i know we're into the river. I dropped my phone, my glasses fell off, I had the baby in my arms, she wasn't in her car seat."
Brooks: "You're in the river."
Maldonado: "We're in the river."
Brooks: "Now what?"
Maldonado: "My first instinct is we got to get out of this car because if this car goes under we're done."
Maldonado: He looks at me and says, oh my God we're in the river. I said to him, what the ‘f’ did you just do? Sophia says, “daddy”, and he says, wait there's electric still in the car. Let's open the sunroof. We can get out through the sunroof."
The three managed to get out before the car filled up with water. Andrea's phone was still inside, and that 911 call would eventually disconnect.
Maldonado : "the dock workers that were coming to check the machines on Sunday morning at three-thirty are the ones that came and they saw us."
Brooks: How long had you been on top of the car before you were discovered?"
Maldonado: "For two-hours."
Brooks: "It's freezing outside."
Maldonado : "Two-degrees and the water is rushing past us."
More than eight-hours since their trip to the emergency room, police arrive at the Dock Street Dam.
Maldonado: "Right when the cops got there, he said, they're not going to shoot me unless I turn the knife towards you guys and that's when he repositioned his body."
We sat down with the Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo.
DA Chardo: "I’ve watched video from a number of angles and he was using a knife as a deadly weapon. The police had to make a decision to attempt to save life and they made a reasonable decision at that moment."
Brooks: "So in Andrea’s story, she recalls him repositioning himself. What did you see him do?"
DA Chardo: "He was making a lunging motion with the knife towards her."
Maldonado: "And he looks at me and he says, you know how this is going to turn out right?" I said it's not. We’re all going to be ok. Everything will be fine, and it wasn’t.”
Maldonado” “The cops were telling him to throw the knife in the river, everything is going to be fine. He went to adjust himself. There was no point in time he had the knife to me he had the knife to the baby. He just was adjusting himself and they took it as him coming towards the baby and I and that's when they shot him."
Brooks: "Even if police knew or suspected that this man had mental illness, would that have changed anything if you felt that she was in harm’s way?"
DA Chardo: "It would had been irresponsible to do anything differently."
Brooks: “So what were his last words before he was shot?"
Maldonado: "Just shoot me, shoot me. I can't live with what I’ve done to my family."
Brooks: "And you said he was right next to you."
Maldonado: "Six-inches from me and the baby. The baby was on my chest. After he said that, the shots rang out. I yelled no, I covered my daughter's face and I yelled no, that was my response."
Brooks: “And what did she do?"
Maldonado: "She tucked her head real tight into my chest."
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