WHY DID STUDENT ATHLETE JUMP?

NO ONE but 17-year-old John T. Haggerty, a popular Haddonfield Memorial High School football player and wrestler, may ever know why he jumped from the Benjamin Franklin Bridge early Sunday, possibly to his death.

The teen had been driving the wrong way on Arch Street near 7th in Center City moments before his frightening jump, Philadelphia police Capt. Brian Korn said yesterday.

About 12:20 a.m. Sunday, two city police officers, sitting in a parked car while monitoring the crowds at a nightclub on that block, noticed that a 1994 Acura was heading east on the one-way westbound street, Korn said.

One officer jumped out and "tried to flag the car down," Korn said. "The car kept coming" and the officer "jumped out of the way."

If the officer had not moved out of the way, the Acura could have hit him, Korn said.

The officer then rushed back into the police car and chased Haggerty, who drove through city streets onto the bridge, heading toward New Jersey, before his car hit the median, Korn said.

Haggerty then ran from his car to the side of the bridge.

The police officers who chased him "were yelling at him, 'Don't do it! Don't do it!' as he was jumping over the rail," Korn said.

It was too late.

The well-liked Haddonfield High junior, whom friends and family called J.T., plunged into the frigid, murky waters of the Delaware River about 12:30 a.m. Sunday.

As of last night, he had not been found, said spokesman John Miller of the Delaware River Port Authority, which is handling the investigation.

All day yesterday, authorities and Haggerty's family members continued searching the chilly waters for any sign of the teenager.

In a speedboat, Haggerty's stepfather, Chris Squazzo, and an uncle, Mark Paoli, frantically searched the waters. They described Haggerty as a "good kid."

Philadelphia Police Officer William Borbidge of the marine unit - which assisted the port authority in its search along with the New Jersey State Police and the Coast Guard - said last night that Haggerty had not been found.

It would be difficult to believe that Haggerty could have survived his fall from 125 to 135 feet into the 45-degree water, especially considering the number of hours that have passed, Borbidge said.

Meanwhile, well-wishers streamed into Haggerty's mother's home in Haddonfield yesterday. She declined to speak to this reporter.

Haggerty's father, John, confirmed by phone yesterday that it was his son who had jumped from the bridge. He said that he and the youth's mother, who are divorced, shared joint custody of their son.

"I'm unaware of what transpired," Haggerty said about what could have led his son to jump from the bridge.

According to a report on Haddonfield Online, a community Web site, "friends of [Haggerty] have reported that he left a party on Saturday night after an altercation with another male."

Authorities yesterday did not know or would not say what Haggerty was doing before he drove the wrong way down Arch Street.

Haddonfield Memorial High School did not have classes yesterday because it was the last day of spring break. However, school was open for the many students who had heard about the tragedy and needed someone to talk with, Haddonfield School District Superintendent Joe O'Brien told reporters.

O'Brien said the high school of about 770 students is a close-knit community.

"The mood's very somber," he said. "It's very sad. We're concerned about our lost student. We're concerned about our students here today."

Grief counselors were available for the approximately 100 students who showed up at the school yesterday, he said.

A younger brother of Haggerty's attends a different school, O'Brien added.

Freshman Miriam Podheiser, who was at the school yesterday, said of Haggerty: "He's, like, one of the nicest kids I know. He was friends with everyone."

Many students poured out their grief on the popular online Web site Facebook.com.

One student wrote to Haggerty: "I have this stupid feeling that you're just going to walk into school tomorrow like nothing happened. With your hat backwards, and that goofy look you always have on your face. But then I realize that I'm never going to see you again and it really hurts to think about that. I'm really going to miss you."

Staff writer Christine Olley and staff photographer Jessica Griffin contributed to this report.