Three people were killed and four others seriously injured when their 40-foot powerboat plowed onto marshland on a moonlit Sunday night off Long Island’s southern shore. The Hustler speedboat was navigating a channel in an area dotted with boggy salt marshes, just south of Wantagh, when it ran aground, authorities said. The boat’s captain was thrown off the craft, and pronounced dead by rescuers when they arrived.

The Nassau County Police Department said officers responded about 7 p.m. to the accident, along with the U.S. Coast Guard, Wantagh Fire Department and the New York City Police Department. At least two people were airlifted to nearby hospitals, according to the Coast Guard. Nassau County police were investigating the cause of the accident. They did not release the names of the victims.

Capt. Joe Frohnhoefer, the founder of Sea Tow, a marine assistance organization with headquarters in Southold, said he wasn’t surprised by the crash, adding that he has seen four similar accidents, where boats run up usually on sandbars while trying to navigate the complex network of channels and bays. “It’s a lack of knowledge, a lack of boating knowledge,” he said.

hustler speedboat

Frohnhoefer said the speedboat that crashed was built for racing.

Hustler, the Calverton, N.Y.-based company that built the boat, has a model capable of reaching speeds over 150 mph.

(http://www.foxnews.com)

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