1 dead as boat hits Robert Moses bridge

Sad thing to happen, people should run a little slower at 4 in the morning.


Boat hits Robert Moses Causeway support; 1 dead

BY CHRISTINA HERNANDEZ | christina.hernandez@newsday.com 11:26 AM EDT, August 16, 2008http://www.newsday.com/media/photo/2008-08/41651204.jpg
At the Coast Guard station in West Islip, Suffolk police and Coast Gaurd officials go over a boat that crashed into a support on the Robert Moses Causeway in the Great South Bay. One person was killed; another injured. (Photo by James Carbone / August 16, 2008)


One person was killed and another was injured when a boat struck a support of the Robert Moses Causeway near Fire Island in the Great South Bay early Saturday, Suffolk police and the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Authorities did not release the victims' identities. The injured man was treated and released from a hospital Saturday, officials said. His condition was not immediately known.

The cause of the incident, which happened at about 4:50 a.m., is under investigation.

"We want to make the public aware of the potential dangers of traveling under the side spans of bridges outside of the navigational channel," said Lt. Douglas Miller, command duty officer of Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound.

Update:

Authorities responding to a call found Michael Ruscito, 21, of West Islip dead after his boat struck a support of the Robert Moses Causeway Bridge early Saturday morning. Matthew Sullivan, 21, also of West Islip, was taken to an area hospital for treatment of his injuries, which authorities said were not life-threatening.

Authorities said the boat was traveling westbound when it hit the bridge. The vessel has been impounded.