Commack man arrested for driving boat drunk

Commack man arrested for driving boat drunk

FIle photo

Police arrested a man for boating while intoxicated on Saturday night after he crashed his boat into a buoy in Patchogue Bay.

Erik Dowgiallo was arrested for boating while drunk. Photo from SCPD
Erik Dowgiallo was arrested for boating while drunk. Photo from SCPD

5th Precinct officers responded to a 911 call at the Dublin Deck bar, located on 325 River Avenue, Patchogue, where witnesses reported that a man left the bar in a 22-foot Sea Ray boat after a dispute, and sped away down the Patchogue River at 9:04 p.m.

Marine Bureau Police Officers Daniel Smith and Charles Giardella, aboard Marine Kilo, were notified about the fleeing boat and responded to check the area. A 29-foot Response Boat from the U.S. Coast Guard Station at Fire Island also joined in the search.

While officers were en route, the captain of a passing ferry contacted the Marine Bureau via VHF radio to report that a boat had sped out of the Patchogue River and struck buoy #4 in Patchogue Bay.

Officers Smith and Giardella located the disabled vessel with the operator, Erik M. Dowgiallo, and two male passengers on board. None of the occupants were injured in the crash.

Dowgiallo, 35, is being held at the 5th Precinct. He is scheduled to appear at First District Court in Central Islip on Aug. 5. Attorney information was not immediately available.