Edward Hillkewicz, of Mastic Beach, indicted in boat crash that injured fiancee, DAs office says
This is a view of the general Shinnecock Canal area taken the day after the incident. Credit: John Roca
A Mastic Beach man who allegedly crashed his boat into a jetty and then into the wall of the Shinnecock Canal with five passengers on board was indicted by a Suffolk grand jury on charges of assault and operating a vessel while intoxicated, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said.
Edward Hillkewicz, 28, was arraigned before Judge James A. McDonaugh on charges of second-degree assault, second-degree vehicular assault, reckless endangerment, reckless operation of a vessel and two counts each of operating a vessel while intoxicated with a passenger less than 15 years old, operating a vessel while intoxicated, and endangering the welfare of a child.
Two of the passengers on board in the May incident were young children, according to the DA's office.
Court records show Hillkewicz pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was released with nonmonetary conditions that include supervised release and a suspension of his vessel license, according to the records.
Hillkewicz is due back in court Sept. 4. He faces up to 7 years in prison if convicted of the top count.
"We await an extensive review of discovery, once received from the district attorney’s office," said his attorney, Robert F. Schalk.
According to Southampton Town police and an account from the Suffolk Count District Attorney's Office, Hillkewicz was allegedly operating a 33-foot Grady White center console boat on Peconic Bay on May 25 headed to Hampton Bays "after consuming alcohol earlier that day in Greenport," when he crashed the vessel "at a high rate of speed" into a jetty in front of Meschutt Park.
The district attorney's office said the impact of the crash sent the boat catapulting into a wall of the Shinnecock Canal, causing it to then ricochet into another part of the jetty before becoming "grounded on the sand in Meschutt Park."
Passengers aboard the boat at the time included three adults, one of them a woman authorities identified only as Hillkewicz's fiancee, and children aged 2 and 6. Southampton Town police responded and arrested Hillkewicz. The district attorney's office said Hillkewicz's fiancee was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital, where she underwent two spinal surgeries before being transferred to another hospital for continued treatment and rehabilitation.
"Currently," the district attorney's office said, "she has limited movement from the waist down."
The other passengers were not seriously injured in the crash, authorities said.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
'It's depressing, it's frustrating' A Newsday investigation revealed that Grumman Aerospace knew toxic chemicals were leaking into the ground in Bethpage. Newsday Associate Editor Paul LaRocco and Deputy Editor David Schwartz explain.
'It's depressing, it's frustrating' A Newsday investigation revealed that Grumman Aerospace knew toxic chemicals were leaking into the ground in Bethpage. Newsday Associate Editor Paul LaRocco and Deputy Editor David Schwartz explain.
