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Fair Baldwin man strikes, kills swimmer in Freeport
Raymond Balboa, 53, was intoxicated, police say
A Baldwin man faces vehicular manslaughter charges after a boat he was operating on Sunday in Baldwin Bay while he was intoxicated, according to police, struck and killed a Bay Shore man who had been a passenger in the boat.
According to Nassau County police, Raymond Balboa, 53, was operating a 50-foot Sea Ray with between 10 and 14 people aboard at around 6:30 p.m. The boat stopped for a short time about 20 feet from a dock so the passengers could go swimming, and Balboa then asked everyone to return to the boat.
When he restarted the engines and began maneuvering the boat, police said, one passenger, Cesar Hernandez-Rodas, 34, of Bay Shore, was still in the water. Hernandez-Rodas was struck by the propeller and suffered multiple lacerations of his lower body. He was brought back onto the boat, then moved to a nearby home before being taken to South Nassau Communities Hospital by ambulance, where he was pronounced dead.
Following an investigation, police concluded that Balboa “showed signs of intoxication,” and arrested him.
According to Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy, the incident occurred at the foot of Sterling Avenue in Freeport, which faces the bay.
Balboa’s Rockville Centre-based attorney, Michael DerGarabedian, said Monday that his staff began contacting witnesses who saw the incident from land, who offered a different version of events than police. According to DerGarabedian, witnesses told him they saw Balboa make two trips around the boat to ensure that everyone was on board, and it wasn’t until after he started the boat that Rodas jumped off. “Certain safety precautions were taken to make sure everyone was back in the boat,” DerGarabedian said. “What’s odd is that these people were available for police to interview, because they were at the scene. But they chose not to.”
Balboa was charged with second-degree vehicular manslaughter, operating a vessel while intoxicated and operating an unregistered vessel. He was arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead on Monday.
