A New Jersey police chief is being honored after a Delaware River rescue that the woman he pulled from the water says saved her life. According to reporting by Suzanne Russell for MyCentralJersey.com, Lebanon Township Police Chief Jason Cronce will be honored by the 200 Club of Hunterdon County after rescuing Kathy Van Duyne during a tubing trip on Aug. 17, 2025. MyCentralJersey reported that Cronce was floating the Delaware River with a group of about 20 people when Van Duyne hit a fallen tree at a bend in the river. Her tube popped up, but she did not immediately resurface. Cronce told the outlet that he pushed off the tree and was pulled underwater by the current. He later learned that low water from drought conditions had made the current faster and stronger. Van Duyne wrote in a letter to the Lebanon Township Committee that the impact flipped her, slammed her back into the tree, and pulled her underwater, according to the report. She wrote that Cronce’s quick thinking, strength, and selflessness saved her life. Cronce said the rescue was instinctive. “When I felt her, I just pulled. I didn’t realize she was stuck,” he told MyCentralJersey. About 35 feet … [Read more...] about Lebanon Township Police Chief Honored After Pulling Woman From Delaware River Current
