The body of the third crew member was found in the tug
TARRYTOWN – The tugboat “Specialist” that sank when
itstruck a stationary barge in place to support construction of the new
Tappan Zee Bridge was raised from the bottom of the Hudson on Thursday
and the body of a crewmember was recovered. The police and salvage operations
were concluded later in the day.
Three men on the boat were killed. Two bodies were recovered right after the March 12 crash – Paul Amon, 63, of Bayville, New Jersey and Timothy Conklin, 29, of Westbury, Long Island.
The body of Harry Hernandez, 56, of Staten Island was removed from the tugboat when it was lifted out of the water on Thursday.
“We are hopeful that the conclusions we reach about this accident will help to prevent a similar tragedy from ever happening again,” said Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino.
After the boat was raised and the missing crewman recovered, county police detectives conducted a forensic examination of the vessel, cataloguing the damage and recovering evidence, including navigation systems, GPS devices, logbooks, and other items. They will be used in the ongoing investigation being conducted by the US Coast Guard and the Westchester County Police.
