"It's not a freeway. There's rarely more than 2 or 3 craft per square mile."

I thought you were a sailor. If you have ever been out in those waters in 1 sq. mile of the Statue there are at least 10-15 boats. There are at least 3 tour boats not to mention ferrys around there constantly. I could easily see a case where the Shark tourist boat could casue a wake large enough to hide an anchored boat. That is not to say that the driver accused was not being careless, but let's face it an anchored boat can not move out iof it's own way. There are reasons what is it not allowed.

Lawyer for boater charged in fatal harbor crash says third boat - a tourist boat - triggered accident

Friday, July 09, 2010

NEW YORK - A defense lawyer says a deadly boat crash near the Statue of Liberty was due to a tourist boat that cut off one of the two boats involved - and wasn't the fault of the boater charged with vehicular manslaughter in the crash.

Richard Aquilone's lawyer said yesterday that Aquilone had to swerve to avoid the tour boat as it neared him last Friday. Attorney Marc Agnofilo says the tour boat's wake then made it hard for Aquilone, of Jersey City, to see a boat anchored nearby.

Aquilone's boat hit the anchored craft, killing 30-year-old Jijo Puthuvamkunnath.

Aquilone has pleaded not guilty to charges that also include running a boat under the influence of alcohol.

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That's a really crappy anology. Have you ever looked out there, never mind boated out front of LSP? It's not a freeway. There's rarely more than 2 or 3 craft per square mile.

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No, it's like saying he was the only car parked in the middle of the turnpike during rush-hour.

The Hudson river is the busiest waterway around. I don't know where he was anchored, but when you have so much traffic speeding by, it'd would behoove you to stop in designated anchor spots only.

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Why? Because it's easier to avoid a MOVING target? It's like saying he hit the only car parked in an empty mall parking lot and it was the cars fault for being parked. If his deliberate course was so close to an anchored boat that a wake could throw him into it at a speed that could destroy that boat, he was already acting irresponsibly, not to mention rudely.

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You've got a point there, plus being anchored didn't help the situation. As stated in the newspaper, "it was an accident". I guess maritime laws differ from landlocked rules. Ahoy matey, don't drink and drive.

After one man dies and another faces jail, the importance of not drinking when operating a boat is sadly stressed

Monday, July 05, 2010
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Judging by the stream of skippers and guests leaving Jersey City's Port Libert? marina yesterday to take in the fireworks - with six-packs in hand - Friday's fatal boat accident near the Statue of Liberty didn't keep many boaters landlocked.

But the tragedy that left a 30-year-old Bergenfield fiance dead and put a 39-year-old Jersey City man behind bars was a sober reminder to the dangers of navigating a boat and the alertness needed to do so safely.


Preparing to take out a group to watch the fireworks from the marina, Port Libert? resident Gerry Vadas, the owner of the 33-foot motor cruiser, Open Late, said he even designates passengers to keep an eye out for debris.

"Safety is very important you have to do the checks and balances before you go out," said Vadas. "Most importantly, the person operating the boat can't be drinking."

Port Libert? resident Richard Aquilone, 39, a married father of three young children, was charged with vehicular manslaughter, operating a vessel under the influence, and endangering the welfare of a child, in Friday's fatal crash, police said.

Aquilone, with his family aboard, was piloting a 30-foot Pro-Line fishing boat, when it struck a 17-foot Bayliner, killing Jijo Puthuvamkunnath, 30, of Bergenfield, who was engaged to be married next month.

Two other men on the craft with Puthuvamkunnath - both 30 - were rescued by NYPD marine units and taken to waiting emergency crews at the Liberty Landing marina in Jersey City, according to U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Thomas McKenzie. They suffered minor injuries and were released from the Jersey City Medical Center Friday night.

The New York Daily News reported that Aquilone's boat - the Reel Impulsive - hit the wake of a passing speedboat and then crashed down atop the Bayliner.

Aquilone refused to give blood but registered .06 on a Breathalyzer after the crash - a reading below the .08 legal limit, according to published reports. Authorities said that's why he wasn't hit with the more serious charge of boating while intoxicated.

A partner at a Manhattan financial equity firm, Aquilone posted $50,000 bail Saturday night. If convicted on all charges, he could face up to nine years in prison.

The Associated Press and The Star-Ledger contributed to this story.

This guy was hardly drunk. He blew a .006. Pull over anyone driving home from a Beergarden and they will have higher alcohol in their blood

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How do you figure any of that? Had he guy been operating his boat in a responsible and alert manner a wake should not cause him to slam into a anchored boat. Both are usual maritime occurrences, particularly in that area.

As a longtime sailor and paddler, I've seen plenty of cowboys at the helm of craft they had no training for and drunk to boot. It can be terrifying in a smallcraft when you realize that powerboat bearing down on you at 40 mph has no one actually looking ahead of it. I had a 60 foot Coast Guard Auxiliary vessel do it to me recently when I was out in daylight and perfect visibility in a bright yellow kayak.

I've seen the Shark Tourist boat all the time on the Hudson River and it does go super fast which creates large ripple waves and super loud (there's no way other other boaters can't hear it coming) that smaller boats or NY Waterway don't sail near it or try to tailgate nor out-sail it on the water. The driver of the boat (Aquilone) did because that is the only way why he swerved with impact and hit the boat where the victim was.

It sounds as if the Shark Tourist boat cause the accident. I have been out there and that thing it a havoc. The article also says the small boat was anchored which unfortunatley probably had a lot to do with the collision.

I read the driver (Richard Aquilone) of the other boat that killed the 30 yr old groom-to-be lives on Port Liberte and is facing 9 yrs prison sentence. People will never learn not to drink and drive a boat after several warnings not to. They should slap this guy with 50 yrs prison sentence!

Boat Collision in New York Harbor Kills 1

By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: July 2, 2010

A man was killed and two others were injured in New York Harbor on Friday evening when their pleasure boat was rammed by another boat apparently being driven by a man who was intoxicated, the police said.

The three victims, all 30 years old, were on a 19-foot Bayliner near the Statue of Liberty when it was struck about 6:30 p.m. by a 30-foot Pro-Line, the police said. The force of the crash split the smaller boat in two, severely injuring one of the men and trapping him in the wreckage. Rescuers struggled to extract him and took him to Liberty Landing Marina in Liberty State Park; he and the other two men from the boat were then taken to Jersey City Medical Center.

The man who had been extricated was pronounced dead at the hospital. The other men were each treated for minor injuries, including cuts and scrapes, and remained at the hospital in stable condition late Friday night, the police said. Their names were not immediately released.

Shortly after the crash, the authorities arrested the 39-year-old operator of the larger boat, who they said had failed a sobriety test. His name was not released.

They authorities said he had been on the boat with a 35-year-old woman and three toddlers. The relationship of the women and children to the operator was unclear. All of them escaped the crash unharmed, the authorities said, and were taken to a New York Police Department harbor base.

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Groom-to-be killed in horrific harbor boat crash near Statue of Liberty, boozed-up driver arrested

BY KERRY BURKE AND JOE KEMP
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

A 30-foot boat strikes a smaller boat near the Statue of Liberty early Friday night, killing Jijo Puthuvamkunnath (b.), who's pictures with his fiance, Sissy Chacko.

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The wild wake of a speeding tourist boat caused a boozed-up pilot to crash into another vessel near the Statue of Liberty Friday - killing a New Jersey man weeks before his wedding day, authorities and family said.

The skipper - who sources identified as Richard Aquilone, 39, of Jersey City - was facing charges in the deadly 6:20 p.m. crash after he failed a Breathalyzer test, police said.

Aquilone was cruising with a woman and his three toddlers when his 30-foot ProLine craft, "Reel Impulsive," hit the wake of a passing speedboat filled with tourists, authorities said.

"The Shark ... happened to be passing by," said Sgt. Sal Norman of the U.S. Park Police. "[Aquilone] was crossing over the wake.

"The bow was lifted and it came down on top of the other boat," Norman added. "The occupants of the smaller boat didn't even see it."

Jijo Puthuvamkunnath, 30, and two friends were in the 17-foot Bayliner anchored off Liberty Island when they were struck by Aquilone's craft, said sources and family members.

The impact left Puthuvamkunnath - who family said was preparing to marry his fianc?, Sissy Chacko - trapped inside the crumpled boat, cops said.

"We couldn't get [him] out immediately," said Sgt. John Gallagher of the NYPD harbor unit. "The side of the boat was crushed in."

It took six officers to pry the severely injured boater from the vessel, he said. He was rushed to Jersey City Medical Center with the other two passengers, cops said, where he was pronounced dead from his head injuries.

Puthuvamkunnath was slated to get married next month, according to the couple's registry on WeddingChannel.com.

A neighbor said Puthuvamkunnath, of Bergenfield, N.J., recently tutored his son free of charge.

"He was a generous man with a big smile," said David Marsh. "He was a funny guy, very kind.

"He said he wanted to go out and celebrate for July 4," Marsh added. "This is just so sad."

The two other victims, also both 30, were treated for minor injuries and are in stable condition.

The 45-year-old woman and Aquilone's three children - a 3-year-old boy and his 2-year-old twin brother and sister - were not injured, police said.