Patchogue, NY - July 31, 2016 - Suffolk County Police Marine Bureau officers arrested a Commack man for Boating While Intoxicated after he crashed his boat into a buoy in Patchogue Bay Saturday night. Fifth Precinct officers responded to a 911 call at the Dublin Deck bar, located at 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, of Commack, was charged with Boating While Intoxicated and is being held at the Fifth Precinct. He is scheduled to be arraigned today at First District Court in Central Islip.
A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.