80-Year-Old NJ Man Dies After Driving Off Boat Launch in Greenwich

An 80-year-old New Jersey man died after driving off a Greenwich boat launch on Monday afternoon in what police are calling a "terrible accident."

Police said Patrick Conroy, 80, of Wall, New Jersey, drove a 2016 Chrysler Town and Country minivan off the side of the Cos Cob Marina in Greenwich around 1:30 p.m. 

Greenwich police spokesman Lt. Kraig Gray said police, firefighters and medical personnel arrived at the marina to find Conroy's distraught family members, who live in New York on the Connecticut border.

Police said Conroy and his family brought two vehicles to the marina to launch the family's boat onto the Long Island Sound.

Conroy's son backed an SUV that was towing the boat down a ramp and Conroy began to move the minivan into a parking spot. As he was turning, the minivan went onto the seawall and was stuck on the rocks, police said. 

Conroy's son tried to pull his father from the van, but the vehicle sank into the water.  Family members dove into the water to try to rescue Conroy, but he was trapped. 

Members of the Sound Beach Dive Team managed to pull Conroy from his van, which they located about 12 feet into the water.

Conroy was rushed to Greenwich Hospital and pronounced dead, according to police.

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