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The incident occurred around late in the afternoon on Friday, May 24 off of Croton-on-Hudson.
Officers Willie Saez, Isai Morreira and Kirt Maddocks of the Westchester County Police Department Marine Unit were patrolling the Hudson when they came upon an unattended personal watercraft in the middle of the river at about 4:15 p.m. They began a search of the area and requested the Aviation Unit to respond to assist.
About 30 minutes later, the Marine Unit spotted the man downriver from where the unattended PWC was found. The man, who was wearing a personal flotation device, was struggling against the current and was extremely fatigued, Westchester County Police said.
Officers brought the 56-year-old Rockland resident aboard the Marine 3 patrol boat. The Marine officers, who are also trained as EMTs, provided initial medical care.
The man told officers he had fallen off the watercraft in rough waters and been adrift for 45 minutes.
Due to strong currents and windy conditions, he had been unable to swim back to his PWC or swim to shore.
Marine Unit officers brought the man and his PWC back to a marina in Rockland, where he was turned over to EMS on shore.
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