BRICK – A 69-year-old woman was rescued from the Metedeconk River on Saturday after falling from the dock, police said.
On October 9, at around 5 p.m., a 69-year-old woman went to check on the lines of her boat, which had been tied to the dock due to the approaching storm. She lost her footing and fell into the river, police said. She attempted to swim along the dock’s pilings to reach the shore, but was unable to because of the swift current and the temperature of the water. She quickly grew fatigued and started to call for help.
Gene Serpentelli, the woman’s neighbor, heard her calls and started to search for her along with Natia Chachava, another person in the household.
Once they found her, Chachava threw her a life jacket and helped her into the straps while Serpentelli called the police.
Officer Ray LaPoint was the first to respond to the scene and immediately climbed down to a beam under the dock, grabbed the woman, and pulled her out of the river.
Brick Police EMTs performed an initial assessment of injury and hypothermia, and the woman was safe and refused any further medical care.
Although the woman wished to remain anonymous, she stated how grateful and impressed she was with how quickly the police responded, and how LaPoint was able to pull her out of the water.
