Good Samaritan rescues 2 after speedboat flips, officials say

A Good Samaritan plucked two men out of the waters on the bay side of Fire Island Saturday after their speedboat, which was traveling at a high rate of speed, hit a wake and flipped, a spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The unidentified Good Samaritan witnessed the accident near Democrat Point and alerted authorities at 12:10 p.m., Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier said. Coast Guard members from the Fire Island station responded within two minutes, Strohmaier said, and found the two men already aboard the Good Samaritan’s boat.

One of the victims was taken by a Coast Guard response boat to the Fire Island Station and was picked up by emergency medical personnel to be taken to a hospital, Strohmaier said. His injuries were minor, possibly a fractured wrist along with some lacerations, Strohmaier said.

The speedboat, described as a 25- to 30-foot Formula brand craft, capsized, Strohmaier said. It was hung up on a shoal so it did not cause a hazard to other watercraft navigation in the area, he added. Coast Guard crew checked for and reported that no pollution was occurring.

“Something like this is relatively uncommon,” Strohmaier said. “Most people who do have a speedboat know what they’re capable of. They’re not built to handle large seas or wakes and as a result, going into those conditions can become very unstable.”