Rec Dept Worker Falls Through Tarrytown Lake Ice

Around 11 am Thursday with temperatures in the teens, a worker riding across the lakes on a small tractor broke through the ice he was beginning to plow for skating.

"You see what happens," Tarrytown Recreation Department director Joe Arduino said, referring to a number of incidents last year when officers fined EF students for walking out on the ice.

Though they had tested the depth of the ice in several spots, Arduino said the vehicle hit an area not far out from the Skate Shack and parking lot that has a spring under it.

Clearly this will mean no skating. "It's not ready," Arduino said.

The worker, who has been with the department for about 20 years, was rescued immediately by his own men nearby, who are trained in such rescues and had a yellow rescue board on hand.

He was already at the shore, witness Bruce Wiacek said, when the emergency vehicles - and a slew of them from Emergency Ops to fire trucks and Greenburgh EMS - arrived moments later.

Wiacek, of Briarcliff Manor, was driving by and pulled over to watch the tractor before it fell it, finding its crossing of the lake interesting. It only nearly traversed the lake coming toward the shack before both driver and vehicle cracked through the ice.

The worker, whom officials did not want to name, was rushed to Phelps Memorial Hospital by ambulance around 11:20, where Arduino and others would be going to check on his condition. Everyone did seem to agree he would be okay since they got him out of the water so quickly.

Police had taped off the area and officials, as well as media crews with hovering helicopters overhead, were still there as of 1:30 p.m.