SIA Newsletter - February 1, 2011 - SUV Goes Off Our Bridge!

This issue will deal only with an accident that could have been tragic but ended with the car's occupants getting out safely.

At lunchtime today, Sea Isle City twins Michael and Nicole Crudele, seniors at Ocean City High School and nephew and niece of SIC Mayor Len Desiderio, were returning home from school when their Ford Expedition went out of control on the toll bridge over the Strathmere Bay, jumped the curb, careened through the railing on the northeast side, hung there and then plunged into the bay, sinking immediately in some fifteen feet of water. Luckily, they were both able to escape through broken windows and swim to shore (it was low tide). They were helped by residents and then taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City. Michael was released and Nicole will probably be released tomorrow.

The bridge remains closed while temporary repairs are made to the railing.

Here is the view from the Deauville Beach House at 1:30. The kids have already gone.

Speculating here: it appears the SUV came around the toll booth, started to brake on this side, and skidded on the wet metal grid (there was no icing at the time).
The SUV then jumped that curb, took out both a traffic light pole (like the one left of the toll booth) and a heavy traffic control box before going through the railing and into the bay.



There's where they went through...

Pulling the traffic light pole back up...

Divers prepare to go after the car...

But first they have to pull out that traffic control box.

Here it is; several newscasts showed video of this in the water and said it was the car.

That thing is heavy!

Now back for the car (so deep it could not be seen from the bridge - only bubbles).

Once the car was "hooked", it was winched in part way but the strain became too much.

The front end loader was used to provide some upward force on the winch line...

Here it comes!

 

Soooo, lucky....

The divers...

Meanwhile, temporary barriers are erected at the opening...

Luckily, they were able to escape through the broken windows...


 



A deployed airbag.




Wires where the traffic control box had been...

And off it goes....



As you can imagine, this got a lot of coverage.
The Press of Atlantic City has a good article here; Channel 40 coverage here, and Channel 6 here (Channel 6 pictures by Grace Curran - there was video on the news, but doesn't seem to be any here).

It could have been so much worse...!

Butch Vandegrift - President

Linda Bateman -Vice-President
Donna Diefenderfer - Treasurer
Dorothy Addario - Recording Secretary
Ken Weaver - Corresponding Secretary

Brother and sister survive 30-foot plunge off Corson's Inlet bridge

The Strathmere Bridge will be closed several days for repair, so you'll need to get there via Sea Isle.

• From the Press of Atlantic City - Brother and sister survive 30-foot plunge off Corson's Inlet bridge
• Story from NBC 40 News - with a short video
• Action News Covers the story - Car carrying 2 teens careens off bridge in NJ

Photos from the Press of Atlantic City -

Schiavo Library: February 2011Newsletter

February Events:

• Movie Matinees: Featuring some romantic choices - Thursday afternoons at 1:00pm
• February 3: Romeo and Juliet
• February 10: Nights in Rodanthe
• February 17: You’ve Got Mail
• February 24: Letters to Juliet

Food Bank Collection:
Thank you for your food donations. During the month of February we will continue to collect nonperishable food goods for our local food bank.

 

New Display:

 Come in and see our new display and find out which “Authors We Love.”

 

Love Your Library Month:
February is “Love Your Library” month and we will again have a raffle. To win a prize pack of library goodies, all you need to do is stop in and fill out a raffle slip. We will draw one lucky winner on March 2.

For our distant friends we’ll have a contest, too. Finish this sentence “I love my library because…” and email it to us: info@strathmerelibrary.org -  We’ll choose the most “heartfelt” entry and award a prize pack of library goodies. Then look for your entries in March’s newsletter.

Library Director’s Note:
I’ll be on vacation during the month of February and the library will be competently run by my assistants Jessica and Marion. See you in March!



Christine Rohrman, Library Director
http://www.strathmerelibrary.org/

Strathmere Improvement Association - January Newsletter

This Issue: Snowstorm Pictures; Coast Guard Pix, New Officers;

Happy New Year from your Strathmere Improvement Association!

This was supposed to go out twelve days ago, but we had a computer death (or almost)... Oh, well.

Here are some shots of the snow we had on December 26 - 27. They said we had 13 inches, but how could anyone tell? They also said Dennisville had 26.5 inches and South Dennis had 13, so go figure!
The wind seldom dropped below 20 mph for the whole storm, so there was extensive drifting and an accurate measurement was virtually impossible.

Last night's much-hyped storm amounted to practically nothing in Strathmere. The wind around the low came off the 36-degree ocean all evening and kept our temperature above freezing, so we just got rain. Around 11:15, it suddenly shifted to the north-northwest and the temperature dropped below freezing and we got very heavy snow. The back end of the storm, however, passed to the north after about 45 minutes so we got no more than an inch of snow.
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The Strathmere Website received some pictures from a man who was stationed at the Coast Guard Station from 1950 to 1954. Carol has added them to the website under the existing article on the Station, at:
http://www.strathmere.net/coastguard.html


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New Year's Day marked the beginning of terms of office for our SIA officers. We'd like to welcome Linda Bateman, our new Vice-President, and Dorothy ("Diddy") Addario, our new Recording Secretary. Ken Weaver moves to Corresponding Secretary (basically responsible for the newsletter), and Butch Vandegrift and Donna Diefenderfer continue as President and Treasurer, respectively.
We'd especially like to thank Debbie Vandegrift, our "retiring" Secretary, for her years of excellent and dedicated service.


Butch Vandegrift - President
Linda Bateman  -Vice-President
Donna Diefenderfer  - Treasurer
Dorothy Addario - Recording Secretary
Ken Weaver - Corresponding Secretary

Vintage Coast Guard photos added to the website

12 photos were sent to the website by Bill Benedict. He was stationed at the Corson Inlet Coast Guard Station from 1950 to 1954.
The photos have been added to the page for - The Corson's Inlet Coast Guard Station

Schiavo Library: January 2011 Newsletter

January Events:
Movie Matinees: Featuring oldies but goodies on Thursday afternoons at 1:00pm
Jan. 6: Calendar Girls
Jan. 13: Grumpy Old Men
Jan. 20: 9 to 5
Jan. 27: Seabiscuit

Food Bank Collection:
We will be collecting nonperishable food goods for our local food bank. A box will be located in the library during the month of January. Stop in and contribute!

New Display Idea:
For the next display I’d like to feature authors that we’ve met. Over the years I’ve been fortunate to meet many interesting authors, including Michener in New Hope (back in the 70’s) and Dick Francis at a Cherry Hill book signing. A few years ago while on vacation in Maine we attended a book signing at a charming little bookshop on the coast and met mystery writer Katherine Hall Page. Her latest mystery, Body in the Sleigh, has been dedicated to “librarians everywhere” and she has a wonderful article about the importance of librarians and libraries on her website: http://www.katherine-hall-page.org/ 
Let me know if you have a favorite “author story;” we’d love to include it in our display.



Recent Photos from the Library:

We would like to thank all our patrons and friends for their generous donations throughout the year. Remember – you make this a great library!
Happy New Year from everyone at the Schiavo Library!

Christine Rohrman, Library Director
http://www.strathmerelibrary.org/