Swimmer Mistaken for Escaped Prisoner
Guards searching for a prisoner who had escaped from Rikers Island thought they had their man: a swimmer in the East River being helped by someone in a motorized raft.
It turned out the man was Tom Gallagher, who has been swimming around Long Island since May 18 to raise money for Down syndrome research. He has raised about $170,000 so far.
Gallagher said he and his support crew were scared when the guards sped out to stop them.
“I never got out of the water. They interrogated us, in the water, for about 10 to 12 minutes,” he said.
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