Man Falls in Charles River

An unidentified homeless man fell through the ice on the Charles River yesterday, prompting Cambridge area police and fire rescue crews to respond in force and drawing a crowd of nearly two dozen gawkers to local riverbanks.

The man was walking across the river when the ice beneath him cracked and he fell in, according to witnesses.

He was taken to Cambridge City Hospital, where he was treated and released for a cut on his nose, a hospital official said.

"I saw him go down," said Jonelle A. Chodan, who was driving by in her car when the accident occurred. "I called the police on my car phone."

Nearly a dozen police cars from area departments responded to Chodan's call, as did several fire trucks and ambulances.

Two firefighters dressed in survival suits used surfboards and ropes to pull the man from the icy water and drag him to the river-bank, drawing cheers and applause from spectators.

No Ill Effects

"He doesn't seem to be hurt, except for a small laceration to the nose," said Brian M. O'Regan, the first firefighter to reach the man.

Both police and hospital officials said that they did not know the name of the man.

"He's a street person and he just fell through the ice," O'Regan said.