Hurricane Irene swept through the New Jersey area, causing significant damage and expense for many of the state’s residents. While parents are looking at the damage, making plans for repair and calling their insurance agents, some of their teenage children may not have the same focus.
One New Jersey teenager saw the flood waters that were left behind not as a disaster or danger, but as a tempting and easy way to cool off. Juvenile charges were one thing he was probably not expecting when he looked at the sunlight twinkling off the water.
The 17-year-old boy from West Windsor had jumped into the waters caused by the hurricane and dipped his toes in on Sunday, August 28, 2011. It is unclear how long the boy was in the waters, but he was spotted in the water by New Jersey officers at approximately 8:00 p.m.
The police began yelling for the boy to exit the water and speak with them; instead, the boy ran from the officers in the opposite direction, an instinct that is probably shared with a majority of teenage males.
After further investigation, the officers determined the identity of the boy they suspected to be the one swimming in the water. The boy later turned himself in and a juvenile delinquency complaint was filed against him.
The young boy may have assumed a bit of physical risk when entering the water; he could have cut himself on hidden debris or become ill from the bacteria contained in flood water, but he did not. The injury risk may be over, but delinquency charges resulting from a little bit of mischief could follow him into his future.
Source: Chron.com, “NJ teen charged for swimming in Irene flood waters,” Sept. 2, 2011