Queens man fined $2,500 for jumping off Fire Island ferry
BAY SHORE, N.Y. -- A Queens man faces a $2,500 fine after he jumped off a Fire Island ferry that was pulling into Bay Shore.
Video of the man leaping off the vessel was widely shared on social media.
On July 4, travelers on the ferry from Ocean Beach told officials they heard passengers daring the man, 24, to jump for $1,000.
"This is just a heinous act and this type of behavior just cannot be tolerated," said Dave Anderson, general manager of Fire Island Ferries. "You've got three giant propellers down there ... It'll suck you right in there, and it'll chop you up. There'll be nothing left of you, like a piece of bait."
Anderson said that's why a "No Rail Jumping" sign is posted on every wall.
"Rail jumping is prohibited and all offenders will be subject to civil penalties," said Anderson.
Federal law prohibits anyone intentionally going overboard.
"It's putting everyone else in jeopardy because the captain has to make a swift maneuver to make sure he doesn't get near the person," said Anderson.
It's not a harmless prank. In this case, 360 passengers were on board as the crew went into full rescue mode in the busy canal near the dock.
"One deckhand had to get a life-saving device and throw it overboard. I had to watch and make sure I had eyes on the man overboard at all times. The senior deckhand and another deckhand deployed an emergency ladder," said deckhand Aidan Furey.
The man refused all of that, according to witnesses. He was later met by Suffolk County Police, who called the U.S. Coast Guard and issued the fine.
The Coast Guard would not identify the man, but said the crew's "attention was diverted away from the safe operation of the vessel in order to try and retrieve the jumper from the water."
It's a rare occurrence on Fire Island ferries, but more common across the county than most sensible people would guess, according to the Passenger Vessel Association.
Federal fines can be as much as $34,000.
In June, three men were arrested for fighting aboard a Fire Island ferry and fined for violating the safe operation of a vessel.