Man Crashed Boat Into Buoy While Drunk, Cops Say

By Andrew Wroblewski

awroblewski@longislandergroup.com

Erik M. Dowgiallo. Photo/SCPD

A Commack man was drunk Saturday night when he crashed his boat into a buoy on the water in Patchogue, Suffolk police said.

Erik M. Dowgiallo, 35, was operating a 22-foot Sea Ray boat in Patchogue Bay at the time of the incident, according to police. He was arrested and charged with boating while intoxicated.

Fifth Precinct officers first responded to a 911 call reporting a man leaving the Dublin Deck bar in Patchogue after a dispute, and speeding away in the boat down Patchogue River at around 9:04 p.m.

Suffolk Marine Bureau police officers Daniel Smith and Charles Giardella, aboard Marine Kilo, responded, and a 29-foot Response Boat from the U.S. Coast Guard Station at Fire Island also joined in the search, according to police.

The captain of a passing ferry contacted the Marine Bureau via radio to report that a boat had sped out of the Patchogue River and struck a buoy in the bay, police said.

Smith and Giardella located the disabled vessel and its operator, Dowgiallo. There were also two male passengers on board. None of the occupants were injured in the crash.

Dowgiallo was scheduled to be arraigned Sunday at First District Court in Central Islip. He was released on his own recognizance and is next scheduled to appear in court on Friday, according to court records.