Witnesses recall life and death on Lake George

"We started to see bodies. You wanted to see that they were alive. You wanted to get them up. And you saw they were not alive."

That is one image from Lake George on Oct. 2, when the tour boat Ethan Allen capsized, claiming the lives of 20 elderly tourists from Trenton, Michigan.

It is an image Mary Olsen will not forget. She is the coordinator of Catholic Charities Disaster Relief in the Albany Diocese, and has been working to help victims of Hurricane Katrina relocate to permanent and temporary homes in the area. Her husband, Noel Olsen, is director of Real Property for the Albany Diocese.

Disaster scene

The Olsens were boating on Lake George with friends when they came across the tragic scene. They were among the first to respond to the wreck, which, they estimated, happened just a few minutes earlier.

At first, the Olsens thought the Ethan Allen's submerged green bottom and upended propeller belonged to an older wreck. But, as they came closer, they were hailed by cries from people in other boats calling for help.

Some of the Ethan Allen's elderly passengers were hanging onto the hull; others scrambled to keep above water; still others floated, motionless.

Dead and alive

Many crafts arrived to help: larger pleasure boats as well as kayakers and people on jet-skis. People threw ropes, paddles, ramps and life-preservers to the survivors, and helped boats that could load directly from the water to do so.

It fell to some boaters to haul bodies out of the water; the Olsens clung to one woman who had died to make sure she was not lost to the lake.

"We held that person -- it seemed forever," said Mrs. Olsen. "She was someone's mom, wife, grandmother. We wanted her to have dignity."

Sirens on shore

Meanwhile, on shore, 13-year-old Andrea Sause was cleaning rooms at her family's Cramers Point Motel, just up a hill from the site of the accident.

When she heard sirens, she followed the sound to the lake and saw around 30 boats in the bay, and dozens of ambulances and fire engines along the shore. She went to find her father, Frank Sause, a parishioner of Sacred Heart parish in Lake George, who was just returning from a Knights of Columbus meeting.

"When I got down there and saw everybody in the water, I was just saying Hail Marys over and over again in my head," Andrea told The Evangelist. "I was just in shock coming up the road. I didn't think it was anything like this."

As the boats docked with horrified and shivering survivors, Mr. Sause and Andrea helped them disembark, and reach EMTs, rescue workers, blankets and safety.

"These are elderly people," Mr. Sause said. "They had a hard time walking, and all of them were in shock, wet and freezing. One was complaining about chest pain. Another was saying, 'That's my wife; I know she's dead.'"

Priests summoned

Mr. Sause phoned friends at a church volunteer picnic on the opposite side of the lake. In turn, they told Rev. Bernard Turner, pastor of Sacred Heart.

"The first report I heard was that there were 20 people that died," he said. "I thought to myself, 'My goodness, numbers are always exaggerated at a time of crisis.' But I've never seen such a tragedy in my life. My stomach does rolls; I'm still reeling."

He and Rev. Nellis Tremblay, a retired priest who was also at the picnic, drove to the site of the accident to counsel victims and anoint the bodies of the deceased.

The survivors "were in such a state of shock," Father Turner recalled. Then, "we went around this corner to the side of a building, where they had an area blocked off with bodies under sheets. You could see a hand here, a watch, some jewelry. Father Tremblay and I began to pray, and we anointed each one. You saw the compassion of the EMS people, kneeling there and making sure they had blankets."

Lingering memories

Andrea and her father are attempting to make sense of the tragedy while returning to their daily lives: Mr. Sause, running the motel, and Andrea, at school.

"All of the teachers came running in and hugged me," she said. "I told the whole story to every class. I told them that I helped for a little bit, but that it was mostly the emergency people helping out. I'm getting overwhelmed with how many people are noticing."

To help herself process the tragedy, Andrea is talking with people at school and with friends she attended a retreat with earlier this year.

"It's going to stay in my mind forever. I won't ever forget it," she said. "I'm just glad to see that the whole community -- everyone on this block, everyone on this mountain -- got involved and cared for people they don't even know. It was awesome to see."

EMTs praised

Father Tremblay praised the fast action and care of emergency workers and local residents.

"The EMS people were marvelous," he said. So were "the neighbors who opened up their houses, and brought out their chairs and blankets, and stayed with the people. The EMS are there because of the Gospel, because they want to help people in trouble, and they do.

"The sheriffs who spent the whole day there, all the people who are telling the story with their cameras -- those are the people who, when they go home and are alone, will need help."

Memorial service

Father Turner held a memorial service Oct. 5 at Sacred Heart. He said that it was important that Lake George residents "do something" to remember the victims, process the tragedy and help everyone come to terms with what happened.

"I am concerned for the victims, the survivors, the families," he said. "We need to remember [the deceased] and thank God for us being here at this time to be able to assist people. We've seen people die in a lake that we love very much. We need to commemorate the lives lost, and celebrate the gifts of those who are trying to rescue and assist in any way possible."

Coming to terms

The Olsens, too, are still attempting to come to terms with the tragedy and their involvement in the rescue.

"I keep seeing everyone," said Mrs. Olsen. "It will take a little time for me. We'll go back to that spot, and we'll relive it, where we've been, and everyone who has lived and who hasn't. Why were we there? I don't have a clue. You need to help, and you do what you have to do. But I keep thinking about their families."

Mr. Olsen keeps on thinking back on the events of the day. "I've been on the lake for over 40 years," he said. "Why now? Why did this happen now? I'm trying to understand what happened. I think about that a lot right now."

Mrs. Olsen would like relatives of the victims to know that their loved ones "had dignity at the end of their lives. We wanted to give them dignity. We want the families to know that people cared for them, that they tried to save them, that they were respectful of them."

(10/6/05) [[In-content Ad]]