Cops: Commack man crashes boat into buoy, charged with DWI
Erik M. Dowgiallo, 35, of Commack, was arrested and charged with boating while intoxicated after Suffolk police said he crashed his boat into a buoy in Patchogue Bay on Saturday, July 30, 2016. Credit: SCPD
A Commack man faces charges he was boating while intoxicated Saturday night after police said he crashed his boat into a buoy in Patchogue Bay.
There were no injuries.
Suffolk County police identified the man as Erik M. Dowgiallo, 35, of Wicks Road. After arraignment in First District Court in Central Islip on Sunday, he was released without bail and is due back in court Friday.
According to a police report, Fifth Precinct officers responded to a 911 call at the Dublin Deck bar, located at 325 River Ave., Patchogue, where witnesses reported that a man left the bar in a 22-foot Sea Ray boat after a dispute and sped away down the Patchogue River at 9:04 p.m.
Marine Bureau police Officers Daniel Smith and Charles Giardella, aboard Marine Kilo, were notified about the fleeing boat and responded to check the area. A 29-foot Response Boat from the U.S. Coast Guard Station at Fire Island also joined in the search.
While the officers were en route, the captain of a passing ferry contacted the Marine Bureau via VHF radio to report that a boat had sped out of the Patchogue River and struck buoy No. 4 in Patchogue Bay.
The officers located the disabled vessel with its operator, Dowgiallo, and two male passengers aboard.
'I do think he saw the writing on the wall' Rex Heuermann's Attorney Michael Brown sat down with Newsday following his client's sentencing to discuss the case. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn reports.
'I do think he saw the writing on the wall' Rex Heuermann's Attorney Michael Brown sat down with Newsday following his client's sentencing to discuss the case. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn reports.
