New York Man Drowns In Housatonic River During Family Outing In New Milford

NEW MILFORD, CT — A 43-year-old man from Yonkers, New York, drowned Sunday in the Housatonic River near Kent Road in New Milford, according to police.

Emergency responders were dispatched around 4:10 p.m. on July 13 after multiple 911 calls reported a possible drowning in a section of the river owned by First Light Power. The victim, identified as Simon Hernandez, had entered a deeper part of the river while attending a family gathering on the riverbank. He went under and did not resurface, police said.

Search efforts involving the New Milford Police Dive Team, along with firefighters from Gaylordsville, Waterwitch, Sherman, Kent, and the Newtown Underwater Search & Rescue team, continued for two to three hours before Hernandez’s body was recovered. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A postmortem examination is scheduled to be conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Farmington. Hernandez’s family, who were present at the time, were informed of his death on-site.

“This is an area with major undercurrents that can trap even the most experienced swimmers,” Mayor Peter Bass said in a statement. “I will be speaking with First Light in the morning concerning people using the property to swim in the dangerous area.”

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Police Chief Spencer Cerruto urged the public to avoid swimming in the Housatonic River, especially near Fisherman’s Cove in Gaylordsville, citing the area’s hazardous conditions.