Boy, 10, Falls Into Quarry In Westchester County
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A 10-year-old boy was rescued Tuesday afternoon, after he took a terrifying fall into a quarry at a park near White Plains.
As CBS2's Lou Young reported, a day off from school for Veterans Day involved a far bigger adventure than they had expected in visiting the picturesque Cranberry Lake Preserves park. Chopper 2 captured the rescue effort as the boy was lifted up the side of the quarry around 2:30 p.m.
He was with his mother, father and a sibling when some rocks gave way, authorities said. The boy fell about 25 to 30 feet down the rock face of the quarry, officials said.
Local fire crews were the first on the scene. They assessed the situation, and called for a specialized Westchester County police unit.
"We found a 10-year-old kid unconscious at the base of, like, a 25, 30-foot cliff area. The fortunate thing is that he was with his family," said Westchester County police Special Operations Division Lt. Jim Luciano. "His father is an emergency room doctor at a metropolitan area hospital; was tending to him when we got here. So it was a little difficult, because it was a technical rescue, you know, down, 25, 30 feet down a cliff."
Luciano said there were some challenges in rescuing the boy.
"A little difficult; a little tricky. But you know, teamwork with the fire department and our police emergency services unit, you know, with ropes and the right gear – and our big stokes basket – immobilized him on a backboard and everything, and got him up off the bottom of the cliff there," Luciano said.
He said the rescue operation took about 25 minutes in total.
The child was taken by ambulance to Westchester County Medical Center, where he was being treated for neck and back injuries, police said.
The Cranberry Lake Preserves park is immensely popular, but the century-old quarry is something of an open secret, Young reported. It was created when rocks were used to build the Kensico Dam at Valhalla.
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