Boating Accidents Claim Three Lives on Great South Bay

Michael Ruscito of West Islip was, by all accounts, a talented member of Boston College's senior class. He was an economics major and was scheduled to graduate next May. But Ruscito, 21, lost his life during an early morning boating excursion on the Great South Bay on Aug. 16 after his 23-foot Boston Whaler collided with the Robert Moses Causeway.

Suffolk County Police Marine Bureau and U.S Coast Guard responded to a 911 call placed by Ruscito's friend, Matthew Sullivan, 21, also of West Islip. Officers only knew the boat was damaged and Ruscito was injured. They pronounced him dead, however, after they located the vessel. West Islip Rescue transported Sullivan to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

Detectives are now investigating the incident and their preliminary findings indicate the boat was traveling westbound when it struck the bridge and became disabled, although the exact time of the crash is still unclear.

In addition to Ruscito's death, two boaters lost their lives after their speedboat flipped over during the "Battle on the Bay" races on Patchogue Bay on Aug. 24.

Suffolk County authorities said Kevin Graff, 48, of Port Washington, and Phillip Dejana, 62, of Bayville, became trapped after their boat, which had been traveling at a high rate of speed, suddenly flipped over. The Coast Guard, the Patchogue Fire Department and race personnel extracted the two men from the boat, but they later died at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital.