Police fish kayaker out of water

Police rescued a man a kayaker out of the cold creek water in Bay Park last Friday at 7:15 p.m. in East Rockaway.

According to police, a 911 call came in for a capsized watercraft in Little Swift Creek, with a man reportedly in the water. A Fourth Precinct officer responded to the area and was told by a man that he had a boat in the Saltair Marina. The officer boarded the boat operated by the owner and they responded to the victim’s location, approximately one-quarter mile away.

Upon reaching the victim, they were able to the pull the 27-year-old kayaker into the boat, where they began treating him for hypothermia. The victim was taken to nearby Marine Bureau Base at Bay Park, where an ambulance medical technician continued treatment until the man’s vital signs were stabilized. He refused any additional medical treatment.

 The East Rockaway Fire Department responded to the call, along with mutual aid from the Oceanside Fire Department. According to ERFD Chief Gene Torborg, none of his firefighters were needed to enter the water “thanks to the quick thinking of the civilian and the police officer.”