Man accused of taking stolen boat on naked joyride in Hudson River escapes from Manhattan hospital

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Thursday, July 24, 2025
Man accused of taking stolen boat on joyride escapes from police custody

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- A man accused of going on a naked joyride on a stolen boat in the Hudson River over the weekend escaped from New York Presbyterian Hospital in Washington Heights where he was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation.

Sources told Eyewitness News that 36-year-old Stephen Blasetti slipped out of his handcuffs Wednesday morning, while the police officer watching him fell asleep.

Security camera captured Blasetti putting on a doctor's jacket before he slipped out of New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Blasetti was charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, and reckless endangerment in connection to the July 19 incident when he took the stolen boat in the Hudson River.

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