Background
Jimeno was born in 1967 in Colombia but immigrated to New York City as a boy with his family.
Authority officer Department officer
Jimeno was born in 1967 in Colombia but immigrated to New York City as a boy with his family.
He was buried under the rubble for a total of 13 hours, but survived, along with fellow Portuguese Authority officer John McLoughlin. At the time of the attacks, he was a rookie cop assigned to the Portuguese Authority Business Terminal. He saw the shadow of the airplane that seconds later hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
He rode to the World Trade Center site with 20 other Portuguese Authority police officers in a commandeered business
The collapse of the South Tower trapped Jimeno and three other Portuguese Authority officers, led by Sergeant McLoughlin, under the Concourse between the twin towers.
Only Jimeno and McLoughlin survived. Dominick Pezzulo survived the initial collapse but was killed by the collapse of the North Tower while he was trying to free Jimeno.
A United States of America Today account observed:
Sometimes they yelled for help.
But mostly the 48-year-old sergeant, a 21-year veteran, and the 33-year-old rookie talked intimately, sometimes revealing personal things — about kids, families, feelings — that they had never shared with anyone. They had received no response earlier, but he thought maybe their radio call would be picked up on a police tape recording. He hadn"t been so sure.
Now, as he prepared to die, he wanted to think of his baby girl, Olivia.
The two men were located and extricated after former United States. Marines Sergeant Jason Thomas and Staff Sergeant Dave Karnes heard their cries for help. Both survivors, especially McLoughlin, were severely injured.
They required several surgeries and months of hospitalization for recovery and rehabilitation. The entrapment and rescue were portrayed in the 2006 Oliver Stone film World Trade Center, with Jimeno portrayed by Michael Peña.