Toddler’s drowning leads mother to mission of water-safety advocacy
Connie Ercol of Shamong, an advocate for water safety, lost her toddler daughter in a 1992 drowning
- The injury, a puncture wound, is suspected to be caused by a needlefish or houndfish.
As if the intense heat hasn’t been enough to deal with at the Jersey Shore this week, two unlikely impalement incidents at two different beaches have sent two adults to the hospital.
An Asbury Park lifeguard was impaled by a windswept umbrella Wednesday morning, authorities said.
The wind took hold of her umbrella while she was setting it up and the stake pierced her arm, a fellow lifeguard said.
A firefighter and EMT went to the beach to treat her, cutting the umbrella stake on both sides to make transportation more manageable, Asbury Park Fire Chief Kevin Keddy said.
She was taken to the local hospital and was alert and conscious upon leaving the beach, Keddy said.
At Barnegat Light Saturday, an adult male swimmer was taken to the hospital for a leg injury that occurred while in the water, according to the Long Beach Township Police Department.
A spokesperson for the police department described the injury as minor and did not further elaborate on the injury, stating that the cause was “unknown.”
“Beach Patrol personnel transported the individual to the area of 19th Street, where they met with responding Long Beach Township Police officers and members of Barnegat Light First Aid. The male was subsequently transported to Southern Ocean Medical Center for evaluation and treatment of his injuries,” Lt. Patrick Mazzella said.
Barnegat Light Beach Patrol Sgt. Hugh Shields, who is also a 2nd Lt. of the first aid squad, described the injury as a puncture hole wound in the calf. Shields said it appeared as if the victim’s calf was stabbed by a needlefish or a houndfish, two species common to New Jersey waters during the summer.
Both needlefish and houndfish can be found in shallow marine habitats, have slender elongated bodies, a narrow beak and rows of sharp teeth. The species are known for quick bursts of speed and leaping out of the water.
Encounters are rare, but on more than one occasion a houndfish has leapt out of the water and injured a person.
In 2010, in the Florida Keys, a kayaker’s lung was punctured by a houndfish that jumped out of the water. In 1999, a fishermen in Malaysia was killed after being speared by a houndfish.
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