Brentwood man dies after car plunges into water at Bay Shore marina
Homicide detectives are investigating an incident that left a Brentwood man dead after his SUV plunged into frigid bay waters Thursday evening at a boat ramp at a Bay Shore marina.
The incident was reported in a 911 call at 6:20 p.m., Suffolk County police said.
Police identified the driver as Albert Williams, 76, and said he was transported to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore, where he was pronounced dead.
Police said Williams was alone in the vehicle.
Patrol officers responding to the crash scene at Bay Shore Marina found a 2020 Jaguar SUV submerged in the water and they immediately made efforts to rescue Williams, police said.
Bay Shore Fire Chief Roy Ekelund Jr. said the department was activated on the call at 6:22 p.m. He arrived on scene to find uniformed police officers in the freezing water removing Williams from the vehicle, he said.
Ekelund said 20 firefighters and four divers from the department's dive team also responded. He said within eight minutes he had divers — two surface swimmers and two underwater divers — in the water around the vehicle, trying to determine if there were any other victims. "We were unsure if there was a second or third victim," he said.
Ekelund said the search was hindered by conditions, including a "steep drop-off" in water depth about 15 feet from the ramp.
Ekelund said that in addition to firefighters and police, two ambulance crews — one from Bay Shore Brightwaters Rescue Ambulance, the other from Islip Exchange — also responded and transported not only the victim but officers, who officials said were treated for exposure.
Details surrounding how the accident occurred were not immediately clear, and Homicide Squad detectives are asking anyone with information to contact them at 631-852-6392.
With Cecilia Dowd
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.”
