By:Jeff Lipton
Just over a day after the body of a Hewlett Bay Park boater was found near the Atlantic Beach Bridge following a two-day search for him, rescuers were called to the bridge again after a youth apparently jumped off the span into Reynolds Channel.
Police and other emergency personnel searched the water, but found no sign of the boy. Police said they believe he may have swum safely to shore.
The operator of the bridge reported seeing three youths on the span at about 12:30 a.m. last Thursday, Aug. 7. He then saw one of the youths on the railing, who then plunged about 40 feet into the water, officials said.
The Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department was summoned to the bridge, as well as New York City Police Department air/sea rescue units, and the Nassau County Marine Bureau and Aviation Unit. "The call came into us as a jumper. The guy in the bridge booth was positive he saw one [youth] jump and thought he possibly got caught in the current and got lost," said Chief John Heidrich of the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department.
The department deployed one boat, as did the Inwood Fire Department. Despite searching for more than an hour, they were unable to find the youth and assumed that he made it to shore, because he jumped in not far from the bulkhead.
"We didn't have any witness who saw anyone go under the water," Heidrich said.
Officials said youths often dare each other to jump off the bridge, which is a dangerous game because of the structure's height and the strong current, which has been known to pull helpless victims under.
Heidrich said his fire department has been called to the bridge a handful of times this year alone as a result of jumpers. "It's definitely a danger. But when you're young, you do crazy things," he said. "It's pretty deep water over there. The problem is, even if you're a good swimmer, it's a fast-moving tide, and before you know it, you're halfway up Reynolds Channel."
Police said they did not know what to make of the Aug. 7 incident. "He was on the bridge with two friends," said a Fourth Precinct police spokesperson. "The Marine Bureau and the Aviation Units went looking for him, but didn't find anything. Whoever it was, we assume he made it back to shore. The witness saw someone in the water."
The incident occurred shortly after police recovered the body of Yaakov Wiczyk, 57, of Hewlett Bay Park, found floating in Crooked Creek in Lawrence by a fisherman at about 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 5. Wiczyk, an avid boater, was apparently knocked out of his vessel by a large wave in Reynolds Channel as he was passing Cedarhurst Yacht Club, about a quarter-mile east of the bridge, at around 11 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 3, police said.
After Wiczyk was thrown overboard, the vessel, a 14-foot Boston Whaler, traveled in circles because it was not equipped with an automatic cut-off switch, and as Wiczyk swam back to the boat, it apparently ran him over, authorities said. Wiczyk was not wearing a lifejacket, officials said.
Search crews worked day and night looking for him, as scuba divers searched the depths in an effort to recover his body. Divers, however, were hampered by bad weather, which made the search treacherous, and they were often forced to suspend the search.
Wiczyk's body was taken to the Nassau County Medical Examiner, and the boat was hauled to the county's Marine Bureau facility at Bay Park for further investigation.
