According to the Department of Environmental Conservation Press Office, a man backed his Jeep and boat trailer with the boat attached into Onondaga Lake on August 9.
He missed the DEC boat launch by 50 feet, and got stuck in the mud at the shoreline. The man’s jeep and boat with the trailer were towed out, and he did not report the incident to the DEC’s Division of Law Enforcement, the DEC says.
On August 12, the man successfully made it to the ramp of the boat launch, but didn’t brake in time and sank his trailer and Jeep again.
The DEC says the man was allegedly intoxicated and managed to escape the Jeep through the window, and witnesses called 9-1-1. Environmental Conservation Officer Donald Damrath, along with Geddes Police and Onondaga County Parks Police, responded to the boat launch immediately.
The driver was charged with several violations of Environmental Conservation Law and state regulations after ECO Damrath observed a fuel spill and garbage from the man’s Jeep polluting the lake. Witness accounts aided the investigation.
Damrath contacted Region 7 Spill Response experts, and NRC Environmental Services responded to contain the fuel spill.
Geddes Police is leading the DWI investigation, the DEC says.