Deadly Boat Crash Near Statue of Liberty

One man was killed and two others were injured after one boat ran into another near the Statue of Liberty early Friday evening.

Authorities say 39-year-old Richard Aquilone of Jersey City, N.J., was out on the water Friday evening with his wife, 2-year-old daughter and two sons, ages 2 and 3, when their 30-foot boat hit a smaller craft.

A 30-year-old man on the 19-foot Bayliner was killed; two others were hospitalized in stable condition.

Emergency personnel worked frantically to save the life of a man who only a few moments earlier was lifted out of a heavily-damaged boat as he was enjoying the sights and sounds of the Hudson River at the start of the holiday weekend. But their life-saving efforts were in vain.

"The gentleman who arrived in critical condition did suffer fatal head and brain trauma," said Dr. Vincent Canabal of Jersey City Medical Center.

Police arrested Aquilone, who has been charged with vehicular manslaughter.

Tom George's cousin was one of the victims on the smaller boat.

"They dropped anchor at the Statue of Liberty and what had happened was a larger water craft, a much larger, went through them and hit them," George told CBS Station WCBS.

How did this happen? The U.S. Park Police said the fast-moving touring boat called the "Shark" may have played a role. The craft routinely passes by the Statue of Liberty, and authorities said on Friday night it passed by the two boats that eventually collided, creating a wake in the water as it went by.

"One of the other boats that was crossing its wake did not see the smaller boat passing by and landed on top of the smaller boat," said U.S. Park Police Sgt. Sal Norman.

Police said it's not unusual for boats to lose sight while rising out of the water after hitting a wake.

"As the boat comes up and it rises over it, it does create a visibility issue. You can't always see what's below you, especially a smaller boat like that," Sgt. Norman said.