On Monday, Feb. 1, two
Bucks students were rushed to
the hospital after they had been
walking on the frozen surface
of Neshaminy Creek in Tyler
State Park when the ice collapsed
from underneath them.
AJ Velichko, a 22-year-old
communications student from
Levittown along with his
friend Jay Adonis, a 24-yearold
nursing student from
Yardley, were hiking on the
frozen Neshaminy Creek at
about 4:30 p.m. when the ice
suddenly broke sending them
into the freezingwater.
The two students were sent to
St. Mary Medical Center, after
being rescued by the local fire
departments, campus security,
and rescueteams.
Velichko suffered from
hypothermia and shock after
falling in the water and standing
out on the ice for nearly 30
minutes until help came. He
remained in the hospital with a
92.1 body temperature for
nearly two hours before he was
released.
Both students were in the
middle of the creek, approximately
25 feet from the shore
when the ice gave out from
underneath them. Velichko was
the first to fall into the water
when he suddenly vanished
into the frigid abyss.
“It felt like I stepped into a
hole. I was surprised when I
fell in and the water was up to
my shoulders, but I was calm,”
said Velichko.
Adonis didn’t know what
had happened to his friend,
“Next thing I know he’s gone.”
Adonis said that Velichko started
to yell his name and that he
found him in the water. He
then tried to make his first
attempt at a rescue.
Adonis tried to pull his friend
out of the water, but then suddenly
fell into the creek himself.
At this point, the two started
screaming for help in hopes
that someone would hear them.
Three students, two men and
one women who were in the
vicinity of the park, heard their
calls and came to help the two.
One of the three called 911,
while another person ran back
to Bucks to get help from campus
security.
Dennis McCauley, director
of security and safety at Bucks,
was off-campus when the incident
happened, but had heard reports that two people were
stuck on the ice. At that time,
he did not know that the safety
of two Bucks students was on
the line.
Adonis had managed to get
himself out of the water and
again tried to rescue Velichko
from the depths of the frozen
creek. Adonis got out of the
water and started to remove his
clothing.
“I’ve seen enough shows on
television that I knew I had to
remove my wet clothes. I started
to take off my hoodie,” said
Adonis.
Velichko was still in the water
and was asking Adonis to
relax. Velichko managed to
stay afloat with a stick he was
carrying and pushed off of the
ice with his legs to escape the
water.
Velichko couldn’t make it to
the shore. He was so cold that
he couldn’t manage to move himself off the surface of the
water and onto the shore.
“I could barely move, I was
frozen, and I was terrified I’d
fall through the ice again,” said
Velichko
Rescuers finally showed up
and tried to tie a rope onto a
tree with a stick attached and
threw it out to Velichko but
they were unsuccessful. About
15 to 20 minutes later the fire
department had shown up and
at least two helicopters
observed the rescue.
The rescue teams finally sent
out an inflatable boat onto the
ice and brought Velichko safely
onto the shore. Velichko said
they cut his clothes off and put
him on a stretcher. Blankets
were provided to retain his
body heat and he and Adonis
got in the ambulance and were
sent to the hospital and
released two hours later.