Fifty-eight-year-old Abimal Acosta of West Islip was arrested on a Boating While Intoxicated (BWI) charge after giving chase to the Suffolk County Police Department’s (SCPD)Marine Bureau and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG).
The incident began with a call placed to 911 at about 8 p.m., in which the caller reported a boater operating a 24-foot watercraft moving erratically in the waters of the Great South Bay, west of Captree Island.
That boater attempted to flee the scene when the USCG arrived. He eventually beached his boat in West Islip, where it overheated and caught fire. The fire was extinguished when the operator turned off the ignition. The operator, identified as Acosta, was taken into SCPD custody after 10 p.m. He was taken to Timber Point, where a Suffolk County Police SAFE-Team officer gave him a field sobriety test. He was then arrested for the BWI after failing the test.
Acosta was held overnight at the Third Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned today at First District Court in Central Islip.
