Coast Guard responds to boat aground, medevacs woman in Chincoteague, Va.

[The Patriot]

CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. — The Coast Guard responded to a boat aground with two children and six adults aboard Wednesday in Tom’s Cove, Chincoteague.

At 6:15 a.m. Sector Hampton Roads watchstanders received a distress call from the pleasure craft Chaser that it ran aground.

Coast Guard Station Chincoteague crews were already in the immediate area enforcing a safety zone during the annual Chincoteague Pony Swim.

A 24-Foot Special Purpose Craft crew assisted in rescuing a woman in her late 60s who suffered a laceration. The woman was taken to Curtis Merritt Harbor where EMS personnel took her to Peninsula Regional Hospital in Salisbury, Maryland.

"Fortunately we were able to reach the injured woman, despite the shallow water," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Spencer Merritt. "We were glad to be able to get her to Chincoteague EMS quickly. Often times, vessels grounded in shallow water are much more difficult to assist."

The rest of those on board the Chaser are currently waiting for a friend to arrive on scene to assist them.




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