NEW ROCHELLE, NY — New Rochelle Police have confirmed two people are dead after an SUV crashed through a guardrail at Hudson Park at about 3 p.m. this afternoon.
The vehicle struck a light pole and then went through the guard rail. The truck went into the frigid water of Echo Bay. Area water temperatures were about 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
The incident occurred yards away from the New Rochelle Marine Unit station. Police responded immediately and pulled a man out of the water. He was taken to an area hospital and later pronounced dead. About a half hour later police found a body in the SUV. The person was pronounced dead at the scene.
Tony Aiello of WCBS-TV: “The car was weaving around the parking lot so we’re presuming he was having some kind of medical episode at the time, and then ended up going through the guardrail here into the water,” New Rochelle Police Commissioner Joseph Schaller.
Journal News: “Two New Rochelle residents in their mid-70s”. New Rochelle Police Deputy Commissioner Robert Gazzola: “The car had a lot of debris in it,” which may have added to difficult visibility. There’s dark tire marks, which would indicate there was some kind of erratic driving,”Gazzola said cautioned that the idea the driver had some medical condition was “conjecture“.
WABC-TV: “The man is believed to be in his 50s or 60s“.
Lisa Reyes of News12: “NRPD says car was deemed empty until tow trucks pulls it up to reveal second passenger. Police say water was dark and murky, car full of debris.”
WNBC-TV: “an unconscious, unresponsive man was pulled from the submerged vehicle by a police diver shortly after the crash, according to police. A woman’s body was pulled from the vehicle later in the afternoon as police divers were working to remove the vehicle from the water, police said.”
OFFICIAL NRPD STATEMENT:
At 2:54pm, NRPD received a call that a vehicle had crashed through the railing and entered the water at Hudson Park. New Rochelle Police Divers responded and pulled the driver from the submerged vehicle. The driver was unconscious and unresponsive and was treated by paramedics and New Rochelle Fire Department personnel at the scene, before being transported to Montefiore Hospital in New Rochelle. The NRPD Traffic Unit is investigating this matter and in the process of contacting the family of the driver.
While conducting the recovery of the vehicle, the police divers located a second person in the vehicle. Due to the lack of visibility in the water and the location that the second person was found in the car, this prevented the discovery of the second body during the initial recovery. No names will be released pending family notification.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the New Rochelle Police Department’s Traffic Unit at 914-654-2220.
UPDATE: 3/20/19: The deceased are Ralph Simpson and Arlene Simpson (Husband-Wife) both aged 74 and New Rochelle residents.
Photo credit: John D’Alois
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