By John Annese
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — The man operating a boat that burst into flames near Hart Island in the Bronx, prompting the rescue of nearly two dozen injured passengers, was drunk, cops said Sunday.
Joshua Brito, 33, was arrested for reckless endangerment and driving while intoxicated after the boat burst into flames about 8 p.m. on Saturday, an NYPD spokeswoman said. The vessel is a 44-foot cuddy cabin boat, according to the Coast Guard.
Personnel aboard FDNY Marine 4, which was patrolling the water until midnight because of the warm weather, saw the fire and rushed to the scene, where firefighters “plucked three people out of the water,” FDNY Assistant Chief Michael Meyers said. The rest swam to Hart Island, he said.
Marine 6 then arrived to extinguish the flames.
Twenty-three people were injured escaping the boat, cops said. All are in stable condition, cops said, though firefighters said one was initially taken to Jacobi Medical Center with critical injuries. FDNY officials said 20 of the victims needed to be hospitalized.
The injured were all adults, their ages ranging between 18 and 58, cops said.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, and the Coast Guard is probing the incident, police said Sunday.
Brito’s arraignment was pending in Bronx Criminal Court on Sunday. He lives in Bedford Park, the Bronx according to cops.
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