The Associated Press
RED HOOK, N.Y. — The first rescuer to the scene of a fatal boat crash on New York’s Hudson River says he found a badly shaken woman, then saw four bodies in the water.
Marc Hildenbrand, fire chief in the village of Tivoli, got the call about 6:30 a.m. Sunday, two hours after the 19-foot boat hit a U-shaped concrete structure on the river’s eastern shore.
Two people survived. Hildenbrand found Jessica Hotaling on the shore and saw the boat half in and half out of the water. He says that when he saw the bodies, he knew the victims were dead so he started taking care of Hotaling.
The other survivor, Joseph Vehnick, clambered up a 20-foot embankment and across two sets of railroad tracks to an open garage, where he called 911.