COMMUNITY NEWS

Six rescued after two boats crash near Jones Beach

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Six people — including three children — were rescued after two boats collided and they fell into the waters off of Jones Beach on Aug. 24, police said.

The Nassau County Police Department’s Marine Bureau reported that the accident occurred just before 6 p.m. at the Sloop Channel Jones Inlet at Point Lookout. Then, a 21-foot vessel ¬— with two passengers on board — struck a 14-foot boat because the driver had “impaired vision from sun glare,” according to a police press release.

The three adults and three children — ages 1, 3 and 10 — were forced off the smaller boat as it began to take on water. All six people were wearing life jackets, police noted.

The pair of people on the larger vessel helped the group get onto their boat. NCPD’s Marine 6 transferred the group to the U.S. Coast Guard Station at Jones Beach to conduct their investigation; their boat sank, police said, and was not recoverable.

No injuries were reported, and police said there was no apparent criminality. A vessel inspection was performed, and the large boat’s driver was issued a summons because they did not have a fire extinguisher on board.

The Wantagh Fire Department was called to the scene of the crash, a spokesman said. However, all people involved were safe and out of the water before they arrived.