An apparent stunt gone terribly wrong cost a Bayonne woman her left eye when she was hit with an arrow shot by a martial arts student.
The woman, identified by sources as Aarti Rishi, a 20-year-old first-degree black belt in karate, is still recovering from the summertime accident that took place at Central Dojo on Broadway near 14th Street.
Rishi was in charge of the school in the absence of owner Sensei Chris Cherchio, according to police reports, and the stunt involved her trying to catch the arrow shot at her in midair; it deflected off her arm into her eye. Sources said she and the student attempted to remove the arrow themselves.
H. Mickey McCabe, director of emergency medical services for McCabe Ambulance, said emergency medical technicians responded to the school Aug. 25.
"Initially, we had not been advised it had been an arrow. We had been advised it was a kick," said McCabe, who added that once EMTs discovered what had truly happened, there was little they could do for the woman because the eye was out of its socket. "What I'm reading here is that the arrow went in the eye and then the arrow was pulled out. The arrow was not in the eye when we got there."
McCabe said Rishi was conscious and alert when she was rushed to the Jersey City Medical Center. JCMC spokeswoman Lynn McFarlane could not release any information on the woman or what she was treated for when brought in.
Cherchio said had he been there, he never would have allowed such a stunt at his school.
"That's not the kind of school we run," he said recently.
He said he has been unable to reach the woman in recent days, and she could not be reached by a reporter checking into her condition.
Bayonne Police Director Mark Smith said last week that officers responded to the scene the day of the accident, took photos and secured the bow and arrow as evidence. No charges have been filed, either against the school or the boy who fired the arrow, he said.
"He (the student) was basically following the instructions of his tutor," Smith said. "She was the instructor for this kid, telling him what to do.
The state Consumer Affairs Office in Newark had no record of any complaints brought against the school, according to spokesman Ron George.
