Woman fishing in wheelchair falls asleep, drives into river

BALDWINSVILLE, N.Y. – Authorities say a paralyzed woman fell asleep while fishing in her motorized wheelchair and accidentally drove it into a central New York river.

Police in Baldwinsville says the 62-year-old woman and a friend went fishing Monday night along the Seneca River outside Syracuse. Officials say the woman is paralyzed from the waist down and was in her wheelchair when she nodded off.

Officials tell The Post-Standard 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.

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