Boat Catches Fire After Operator Flees Coast Guard: Police

WEST ISLIP, NY — A West Islip man was arrested Friday night after police said he operated a boat while intoxicated, attempted to flee from the U.S. Coast Guard and beached the vessel in the Great South Bay.

Suffolk County Police Marine Bureau officers and the U.S. Coast Guard responded after a 911 caller reported a 24-foot vessel moving erratically in the water west of Captree Island at about 8 p.m., police said.

When the Coast Guard arrived, the boat operator tried to flee and beached the boat, causing the engine to overheat and catch fire, police said. The operator shut off the engine, which extinguished the fire, police said.

The operator, Abimal Acosta, 58, was taken into custody by Marine Bureau officers and brought to Timber Point, where a Suffolk County Police SAFE-T Team officer responded for field testing, police said.

Acosta was charged with boating while intoxicated at 10:18 p.m., police said.

He was held overnight at the Third Precinct and scheduled to be arraigned Saturday at First District Court in Central Islip, police said.