NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Will Jimeno, a retired Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police detective, who survived being buried alive beneath the rubble of Tower One for 13 hours on 9/11, is sharing his story in his latest book, "Sunrise Through the Darkness."
Sunrise Through The Darkness Cover
Jimeno has already written a children's book, "Immigrant, American, Survivor: A Little Boy Who Grew Up To Be All Three,". He told WCBS 880 in July that he wrote the book "to tell children that bad things are going to happen in life, but if you put your mind, your heart, your soul into it and you move forward, you're gonna be able to overcome."
The 53-year-old is now explaining how he overcame his traumatic experience, his injuries and his survivor's guilt — as one of the only two people to be pulled out alive from the towers.
"Early on after 9/11 I refused to let the darkness win," he said to The New York Daily News. "But the day my darkness is done with me is the day they bury me. These are things you don't cure. But you learn how to live with it and live the best life you can."
It's this struggle that Jimeno felt would be important to explore in his new memoir co-written by clinical psychologist Michael Moats.
Jimeno was in the World Trade Center concourse, running toward Tower One when the building collapsed and was stuck buried alive beneath debris for more than half of a day.
He reportedly suffered from nerve damage and compartment syndrome, a condition where extreme pressure builds within the muscle, for nearly three years after the attacks.
Jimeno told the Daily News that he still remembers "the sounds of bodies falling and his terror when a nearby fire overheated a fallen Port Authority cop's firearm and bullets started flying over [his] head as he [laid] in the rubble."
He said his miraculous survival brought him to consider taking his own life, but he has since found strength.
"The survivor's guilt was heavy," Jimeno said. "I did think about ending my life. "But then I thought about the teammates I lost and realized if I had taken my life, I would have dishonored them."
The former Port Authority cop, who was played by actor Michael Peña in Oliver Stone's 2006 film "World Trade Center," admitted he had terrible anger issues from the post-traumatic stress he experienced but has begun to "heal."
"I refused to let the terrorists who caused 9/11 touch another generation," he said. "That realization allowed me to start healing."
He said the book, available online, will offer others "facing darkness" the opportunity to seek help.
