Woman Saved After Wheelchair Lands In NY River While Fishing

BALDWINSVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities say a 62-year-old paralyzed woman had to be rescued after she fell asleep while fishing in her motorized wheelchair and accidentally drove it into a central New York river.

Police in Baldwinsville says the woman and a friend went fishing late Monday night along the Seneca River outside Syracuse. Officials the woman, who's paralyzed from the waist down, was in her wheelchair when she nodded off.

Officials tell The Post-Standard (http://bit.ly/2vDVtKN ) that she hit a button that sent her wheelchair into the river. Nearby residents heard the friend's screams for help and called 911.

Two police officers threw ropes to the woman, who was rescued by emergency crews using a boat.

She was taken to a Syracuse hospital for treatment.

Her wheelchair remains at the bottom of the river.

___

Information from: The Post-Standard, http://www.syracuse.com