Some of you may have seen this -it's reached national news. Last night, we heard the emergency sirens go off in Piermont, a small village about a mile down the road (home to the Turning Point, one of my favorite small live music venues). They only use the sirens, I think, for stuff on the river. (The fire dep't doesn't need the sirens, they have radios or pagers or something).
Suddenly, emergency vehicles were blitzing down my road- I live along the water facing the Hudson River.
A considerable number of emergency lights appeared on the Tappan Zee bridge north of where we live, and shortly thereafter, emergency boats with lights, and at least one helicopter, were plying the river. Usually, this is the routine for bridge jumpers. But, that wasn't what happened.
A speed boat with a group of people slammed into a stationary barge (it is really a series of barges) that's part of a large, pre-construction phase for the new Tappan Zee bridge. It happened at night, so even though the barge was apparently lit, the boat driver couldn't see it. Two people were ejected from the boat- a young woman and her fiance's best man. The fiance and others in the boat were pretty seriously injured.
They found a woman's body this morning; not sure if the best man has been found- it would be a miracle at this point if he survived. It's too early to tell whether there was alcohol or recklessness involved, and I'm not posting to point fingers here. The couple was supposed to be married in a couple weeks, live down the road, as do their families (though I don't really know them) and the best man is also apparently a local.
The newsmedia was here in force today, as well as coast guard, state police and various official boats still searching the river. The whole thing is tragic. Piermont is a very small village- most people seem to know each other and they are still overcoming the damage from Hurricane Sandy. (We live in the adjacent village on the mountain side, so suffered no real storm damage).
I really feel bad for the families and the village. Sorry if this is depressing- and I don't really want people to speculate on causes- some of the postings on the local websites are pretty cruel. Just felt the need to acknowledge this, even though it did not affect me directly. As I write this, another siren just started wailing.
Suddenly, emergency vehicles were blitzing down my road- I live along the water facing the Hudson River.
A considerable number of emergency lights appeared on the Tappan Zee bridge north of where we live, and shortly thereafter, emergency boats with lights, and at least one helicopter, were plying the river. Usually, this is the routine for bridge jumpers. But, that wasn't what happened.
A speed boat with a group of people slammed into a stationary barge (it is really a series of barges) that's part of a large, pre-construction phase for the new Tappan Zee bridge. It happened at night, so even though the barge was apparently lit, the boat driver couldn't see it. Two people were ejected from the boat- a young woman and her fiance's best man. The fiance and others in the boat were pretty seriously injured.
They found a woman's body this morning; not sure if the best man has been found- it would be a miracle at this point if he survived. It's too early to tell whether there was alcohol or recklessness involved, and I'm not posting to point fingers here. The couple was supposed to be married in a couple weeks, live down the road, as do their families (though I don't really know them) and the best man is also apparently a local.
The newsmedia was here in force today, as well as coast guard, state police and various official boats still searching the river. The whole thing is tragic. Piermont is a very small village- most people seem to know each other and they are still overcoming the damage from Hurricane Sandy. (We live in the adjacent village on the mountain side, so suffered no real storm damage).
I really feel bad for the families and the village. Sorry if this is depressing- and I don't really want people to speculate on causes- some of the postings on the local websites are pretty cruel. Just felt the need to acknowledge this, even though it did not affect me directly. As I write this, another siren just started wailing.
