Teen Severely Injured In Rope Swing Fall Rescued By Friends, Police In Manchester

MANCHESTER, NJ — A 16-year-old boy was hospitalized after his friends and emergency responders rescued him when he was critically injured in a fall from a rope swing at a lake in the Whiting section, Manchester police said.

The boy, who was not identified, landed on his head in the fall, Capt. Albert Vega said. He was flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune after the incident that happened July 30. An update on the teen's condition was not immediately available Monday.

Police were called to Hidden Lake about 4:15 p.m. on July 30 for a report of a teen in the water unconscious and it was unclear whether he was breathing, Vega said.

The lake is in a remote area of Whiting, Vega said, with challenging terrain. Two police vehicles trying to reach the scene via a dirt trail became disabled trying to get to the site, and the responders got out and started running to the lake to try to save the teen's life, he said.

Bystanders who were at the lake helped find the emergency responders and drove them to the scene, Vega said. At the lake, two of the boy's friends were in the water, holding him above the water's surface, he said.

First responders quickly placed the teen on a backboard and pulled him up a 30-foot embankment on the backboard with ropes, and he was driven via UTV about 3 miles to the main road. From there, the teen was taken to Bowker Field by a Manchester EMS ambulance and flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Vega said. The teen was intubated at the hospital and underwent further medical evaluation, he said.

Vega said the responding police officers were Sgt. Michael Guarino and Patrol Officers Sage Sysol, Taylor Schandall, Liam Christensen, and Sean Rembach. Also responding were Manchester EMS, Whiting Volunteer Fire Company, and Robert Wood Johnson EMS paramedics.

Vega called the response of the bystanders at the lake "crucial" in getting the teen to the hospital for treatment.

The incident remains under investigation by Patrol Officer Sean Rembach.