Coast Guard medevacs 1 in Chesapeake Bay

BALTIMORE – The Coast Guard medevaced one man from a boat in the Chesapeake Bay Monday after he was reportedly suffering from seizures.

Rescued was Andrew Kiley, 22, from St. Michaels, Md.

At about 12 p.m., a rescue boatcrew from Coast Guard Station St. Inigoes, Md., were notified via marine-band radio that Kiley was reportedly suffering from seizures while aboard the Zoe Madison, a 46-foot commercial fishing boat, three nautical miles off Cove Point, Md. The Coast Guard crew, already underway, arrived on scene at 12:26 p.m., and took Kiley aboard their 25-foot Response Boat-Small.

Kiley was taken to the Route 4 boat ramp in Solomons Island, Md., where he was met by local EMS and taken to Calvert County Memorial Hospital in Prince Frederick, Md.

“The quick action taken by the crew of the Zoe Madison to notify the Coast Guard with the use of a marine-band radio aided us in getting rescue personnel to the scene quickly,” said Ens. Christopher D. McElvaine, a search and rescue coordinator at Coast Guard Sector Baltimore.

The Coast Guard urges all mariners to carry marine-band radios onboard their vessels. Marine-band radios are the quickest and most reliable way to contact rescue personnel in the event of an emergency. Cell phones are not a reliable means of communications while on the water due to gaps in coverage and limited battery life.