1 dead after boat crashes into house on remote West Fire Island

GREAT RIVER, N.Y. -- Police are investigating a deadly boat crash on West Fire Island in the Great South Bay.

Rescuers said at first it didn't seem real - a fishing boat had crashed into a home, and there was desperate need of rescue. 

The isolated location on West Fire Island made it difficult. 

It seems impossible: A 27-foot fishing boat went airborne, leaving the Great South Bay, catapulting over a stone barrier wall and smashed into a deck of an unoccupied summer home on the remote island, killing one of the two men aboard the vessel. 

"The survivor told us he was there for at least two hours. He had lost consciousness, and was finally able to find a cellphone to call 911," Islip Fire Department Assistant Chief Jared Gunst said. 

Islip Fire Department joined the harrowing and traumatic rescue of Christopher Cannella, 47, of West Babylon. He could be seen with his arm in a sling as he was being lifted by medics.

"He was just very worried unfortunately about his friend who had passed away," Gunst said. 

Police said his friend on the boat died at the scene when the boat flew an estimated 30 feet in the air and crumpled into the house. 

"Early indications are that the 2 individuals on the boat left the Bay Shore area sometime before daybreak to go for a day of fishing,
headed in a southerly direction, the West Channel," Suffolk County Police Chief of Detectives John Rowan said. 

The water was so shallow, first responders had to moor their boats and wade on foot to access the scene, only to discover the injured men and two dogs also on the boat. 

"We actually took him and his dogs onto our fire boat and transported them to the Islip Marina, where he was taken by ambulance," Gunst said. 

West Fire Island is not part of the barrier islands. There's no ferry service, very few homes, and no electricity. 

"Right near West Fire Island, there's a sand bar. I think it's called Crazy Charlie, and it gets one foot deep when it's low tide. Maybe he was going a little too fast and then, boom," Fire Island boat owner Logan Barsch said. 

The Barsch family and friends said navigating the channel is treacherous. 

"We have a house on Fire Island, and we are constantly going back and forth," Kyleigh Barsch said. 

They said those unfamiliar with the area need navigation mapping. 

"When you hear stuff like this, it's unfortunate, because you know it's avoidable in the end," Fire Island boater Nikki LaFrancesca said. 

The investigation will determine if speed or any other factor is the cause of this disturbing and deadly boat crash. 

The boat is expected to eventually be towed to the Suffolk County Police Marine Bureau in Great River.

In:
• Suffolk County
• Great South Bay
• Boat Accident