Tappan Zee Tugboat Captain Dies on Hudson River

Photo credit: Rockland County Sheriff’s Office

The captain of a tugboat involved in the construction of the new span of the Tappan Zee Bridge has died after suffering a medical emergency aboard the vessel.

Rockland County Sheriff’s Marine Unit says it responded Monday night to a report of an emergency aboard the Tappan Zee Constructors tugboat Pilgrim on the Hudson River in the area of Tilcon quarry, located a few miles up river from the Tappan Zee Bridge. Once on board, officers found a crew member performing CPR on a 50-year-old male who was unresponsive. The man was removed from the vessel and transported to Nyack Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The victim has been identified as Edward T Smith, 50, of Norwalk, Connecticut.

The Rockland County Sheriff’s office says the cause of death is still unknown.

Tappan Zee Constructors is the consortium in charge of the design and construction of the New NY Bridge, a new 3.1-mile twin span bridge crossing the Hudson River at the site of the existing Tappan Zee Bridge.

Earlier this Month, three crew members of the tugboat Specialist died after the tug collided with a construction barge at the site of the new bridge and sank. In July 2013, two people were killed when a speedboat carrying six people crashed into a barge at the site at night.

The project to build the New NY Bridge is the largest bridge and highway infrastructure project in North America and the largest bridge project in New York’s history.

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