VENTNOR, N.J. - Coast Guard and other rescue workers were searching last night for a 17-year-old boy who fell through the ice under the Dorset Avenue bridge while trying to retrieve a cell phone.
The boy, a senior at Atlantic City High School, had dropped a friend's phone onto the ice from the bridge several days ago, said friends on the scene last night.
They said the boy, whom they identified as Bruce Paige, had pledged yesterday to walk out on the ice and retrieve the phone.
"He was a really great guy, always thinking of others," said Estefania Todorovich, a 15-year-old friend. "He had dropped the phone in, so he felt guilty."
Shaun Paisley, the 16-year-old owner of the phone, said three teens had gone onto the ice about 5 p.m.
"All of a sudden, we felt the whole thing buckle," he said. Two of them turned back, but Paige continued on as friends watched from a dock.
"I was saying, 'Go back. Go back,' " said Erin McGonigle, 17. "He was saying, 'I can do it.' "
Ron Toussaint, 57, who lives at the base of the bridge, said he had seen the three teenagers on the ice. The bridge keeper, who operates the drawbridge between Ventnor and Ventnor Heights, yelled at them through a loudspeaker to get off the ice.
"Unfortunately, they thought it was fun," Toussaint said. "It was a tragic result. . . . I could hear him screaming. It was terrible."
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The boy, a senior at Atlantic City High School, had dropped a friend's phone onto the ice from the bridge several days ago, said friends on the scene last night.
They said the boy, whom they identified as Bruce Paige, had pledged yesterday to walk out on the ice and retrieve the phone.
"He was a really great guy, always thinking of others," said Estefania Todorovich, a 15-year-old friend. "He had dropped the phone in, so he felt guilty."
Shaun Paisley, the 16-year-old owner of the phone, said three teens had gone onto the ice about 5 p.m.
"All of a sudden, we felt the whole thing buckle," he said. Two of them turned back, but Paige continued on as friends watched from a dock.
"I was saying, 'Go back. Go back,' " said Erin McGonigle, 17. "He was saying, 'I can do it.' "
Ron Toussaint, 57, who lives at the base of the bridge, said he had seen the three teenagers on the ice. The bridge keeper, who operates the drawbridge between Ventnor and Ventnor Heights, yelled at them through a loudspeaker to get off the ice.
"Unfortunately, they thought it was fun," Toussaint said. "It was a tragic result. . . . I could hear him screaming. It was terrible."
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