A kayaker told Eyewitness News that coming face to face with a ferry is still a blur, and that both he and his sister were pulled from the Hudson River after a NY Waterways Water Taxi hit the kayakers in their group.
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The ferry left from New York City when it hit the kayakers around 6 p.m.
Five people were hurt.
The teen was rushed to Bellevue Hospital where he underwent surgery for a severe laceration to the elbow, and according to his mother is now in stable condition.
The New York Police Department had a slightly different tally, saying one man, a Manhattan Kayak Company employee, had suffered a serious injury.
It is not clear where the ferry was heading when it collided with the kayakers, police said. The Coast Guard Sector New York station on Staten Island dispatched a 45′ Response Boat Medium to join the NYPD Harbor Police and Special Operations unit, along with fire boats from New York and Jersey City. “His bone was exposed”. They refereed to the man as “a veteran guide who learned to paddle on the local waters here in NYC”, and added, “we are extremely relieved to hear that he is in good spirits”. The NY Waterway captain took a Breathalyzer test and was negative for alcohol.
Officials say they do not know what cause the collision, but say sun glare may have been a factor.
A spokesman for NY Waterway, the ferry’s operator, says it is cooperating with the New York Police Department and the Coast Guard on the investigation.
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“Both parties are responsible to stay out of each other’s way”, Driscoll told reporters.
