A hero NYPD cop saved a suicidal woman from certain death yesterday, grabbing her as she leaped from a Lower East Side building and pulling her to safety in an incredible feat of strength.
The harrowing rescue of Natalia Ramos, 25, was a breathtaking finale to a wild scene where a crowd swelled on Essex Street as the distraught woman tearfully paced the roof and screamed at officers who set up a safety pad on the pavement below.
The high drama began at around 11 a.m. when cops found the hysterical woman standing on the roof of the four-story building and threatening to leap.
"She was standing on top of the building for a while, maybe 30 minutes," said witness David Grand, 32.
Ramos -- who goes by her nickname "Telly" -- told cops, "Everything has gone bad at once. I'm sorry. Tell my friend Rachel I'm sorry. Tell my mother I'm sorry. Tell Rachel to take care of my cats," a police source said.
She even apologized for "wasting the taxpayer's money," the source said.
Ramos them inched closer to the edge of the building -- at the corner of Canal Street -- before sitting down and rocking her knee-high boots back and forth.
Down below, about two dozen onlookers quietly watched in fear, some covering their mouths like they were watching a horror film.
Others took pictures on their cellphones.
The cops feared she was about to jump when she began taking deep breaths -- a telltale sign she was "ready to go," the source said.
Ramos suddenly hurled herself off the side just as Emergency Service Unit Detective Brian Glacken got in position behind her and grabbed the woman in mid-air.
The weight of her wriggling body almost sent him plummeting, but Glacken's partner, Detective Madelyn McTague, swiftly rushed in and yanked them back.
The crowd erupted in applause at the theatrics.
Ramos -- who was reeling from the recent loss of her job and boyfriend -- immediately asked for a cigarette when she was saved.
"I had one with her," said McTague. "We were both a little shaky."
Then McTague and Glacken escorted the woman -- now bootless and clad in black leggings, a pink skirt and a sweater -- into an ambulance.
"She was sobbing and visibly distressed about a series of events that had happened in her life; she seemed very sad," McTague said.
Neighbors said they noticed that Ramos -- who moved into the building a week ago -- was behaving erratically starting Thursday night.
She was spotted in the hallway of the walkup intoxicated and covered with blood.
A source said she had cuts on her hand and wrist, and when she teetered on the rooftop, she was wearing a makeshift dressing around her left hand.
"Something was going on with her all night long," said a neighbor.
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