Off-duty Suffolk police officer, father hurt in boating accident

An off-duty Suffolk police officer and his father were rescued Wednesday evening from the Amityville Cut after being ejected from their boat into the water, according to authorities.

The men, ages 30 and 64, were on a 17-foot Boston Whaler at about 6:20 p.m. when the boat was struck by a wake, the Suffolk County Police Department's press office wrote in an email.

The 30-year-old is a county police officer and Massapequa resident, said Brian Nevin, a Town of Oyster Bay spokesperson. Neither man's name was disclosed.

"His own boat ran him over severing an artery in his leg. Bay Constables applied 2 tourniquets to his leg and packed the wound. Definitely saving his life," Nevin said in a text message.

"Multiple boaters assisted" in the rescue, the press office's email said.

The boat's propeller had struck the younger man's legs, and he was brought to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the email said. The cause of the wake — such as whether it was another boat — is under investigation.

The Amityville Cut runs from Amityville Creek south to Gilgo Island and is used frequently by boaters from Eastern Nassau to Amityville and Copiague.

Newsday's Joe Ostapiuk contributed to this story.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.