In The News
Boating accident leaves operator hospitalized with severe head injury
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The operator of a boat that plowed into a dock in the Erie Canal on Saturday night remains hospitalized today with a severe head injury, Town of Tonawanda police said.
Adam Hayes, 25, of the Town of Tonawanda, was listed in serious condition in Erie County Medical Center this afternoon, following the crash that occurred shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday. He is a 2002 graduate of North Tonawanda High School, relatives said.
The boat, described as approximately 15 to 18 feet long, had docked earlier in the night at a bar-restaurant in the City of Tonawanda, and police said all four people in the boat had been drinking.
Witnesses have told Town of Tonawanda police that the boat was moving fast, up to possibly 25 or 30 mph, when the operator lost control on a curve in the canal, causing the vessel to smash into the dock.
"The speed of the boat, the consumption of alcohol and the darkness all were contributing factors," Town of Tonawanda Police Detective Lt. Joseph Carosi said today.
Possible charges are pending against Hayes, police said.
The other occupants in the boat were identified as Kiel Szewczyk, 24, of North Tonawanda, listed as the owner; William Bush, 24, of the City of Tonawanda; and Joshua Georger, 25, of Niagara Falls. None of them reported any injuries.
Police credited Bush and Georger with taking the helm of the boat, getting it to shore, securing it and calling police.
"They were able to pick up Adam and put him on the front of the boat, and they attempted to perform CPR," Carosi said.
The mishap occurred along Creekside Drive, not far from the northern end of Colvin Boulevard.