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Dozens of high school students, 2 adults from Connecticut rowing club rescued after boats capsize
WESTPORT, Conn. — Nearly 30 members of a Connecticut rowing club, including over two dozen high schoolers, were rescued from the Long Island Sound on Wednesday after their boats capsized.
Police say just before 5 p.m., three rowing sculls and one chase boat launched from Saugatuck Rowing Club in Westport. Each rowing scull carried nine rowers, all males between the ages of 14-18, and the chase boat was operated by one coach.
According to police, as the boats reached Cockenoe Island, the weather began to change and they tried to head back to the club, but two of the rowing sculls began to take on water and capsized, throwing 18 students into the water. Some of the students then swam to the chase boat and hung onto the side, which caused the chase boat to sink.
Sixteen-year-old Davis Evans was on one of the boats that capsized and had to be rescued.
“It was really scary. I’m still kinda shaken up,” he said. “It was really clean and then really right as we spun, it just, it got windy and the waves were just crashing into our boat and it was just filling up with water. It was really scary.”
Watch: Westport officials provide update on water rescue in Long Island Sound
Police say a second coach launched another chase boat from the rowing club and began to shuttle people to Compo Beach Marina as first responders were sent to the scene.
“We had dispatch reports that were coming from 911 calls from the actual incident on the water. So the first calls were actually from someone reported that they were in a capsized boat and in the water,” Westport Deputy Fire Chief Nicholas Marsan said.
According to police, the temperature of the water was approximately 44 degrees at the time.
“Responding units found a chaotic scene of youths swimming to shore. Some of them were arriving by boat. Some were swimming. Some were still in the water between Compo Beach and Cockenoe Island,” Westport Police Chief Foti Koskinas said. “First responders immediately began providing care to those individuals who were on shore and coordinating the recovery of people in the water.”
“When we finally got back on the beach, we had to run back on the beach towards the trucks and we were, like, falling and stuff. We couldn’t really walk. It was rough,” Davis said.
A total of 27 high school students and two adults were rescued, with at least 12 rowers being pulled out of the water by Westport Marine Police and the Westport Fire Department.
Police say the last victim was recovered from the water around 6 p.m. — somewhere between 48-52 minutes after the boats capsized.
Two students were taken to a local hospital to be treated for hypothermia. The rest of the victims were treated on the scene.
“This was truly an incredible team effort by all. By the coaches that were involved from the rowing club and by all the first responders,” Koskinas said.
When asked if he’ll be back on the water any time soon, Davis said, “Yeah, rowing is my sport. It’s what I do.”
We reached out to Saugatuck Rowing Club, but they declined to comment.
The police chief says they’re still looking into exactly what happened out on the water. The goal of the investigation is to work with community partners to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.