Capsized family of 4 from Brentwood rescued from Long Island Sound, police say
A Brentwood family of four was rescued after their boat capsized Monday night in Long Island Sound, near the Northport Power Station, police said. Credit: Rick Kopstein
A Brentwood family of four whose small boat capsized in Long Island Sound on Monday night was rescued by Suffolk County marine officers who were signaled by the light of a teenager's cellphone, police said.
Suffolk police Marine Bureau officers, responding from land in a 31-foot boat, answered a 911 call at 8:26 p.m. from a 17-year-old, saying he and his family were aboard a boat that was taking on water in the Sound off Northport, police said.
The 14-foot skiff capsized before police arrived and the family was in the water within minutes of the initial call, police said. Only two of the four family members were wearing life preservers, police said.
Bobbing in the darkness, Oscar Martinez, 17, used the flashlight on his cellphone to signal Marine Bureau Officers Robert Reed and Robert Mroczkowski, who were responding aboard Marine Bravo, police said.
Within 10 minutes of the initial call, Oscar Martinez, Jose Velasquez, 29, Olsin Martinez, 37, and Emma Martinez, 22, all of Brentwood, were pulled from the water to safety near the jetty just off the LIPA plant, police said.
The four family members were taken to the Soundview boat ramp near the Northport Power Station for evaluation by Northport Fire Department personnel. They declined medical treatment, police said.
A family member told a Newsday reporter Tuesday that they did not speak English and declined to discuss the incident.
The cause of the capsizing was not clear Tuesday morning.
With Macy Egeland
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
