Three kids dead after vessel capsizes in LI Sound, boat carrying twice its limit: cops
- Last Updated: 1:50 AM, July 6, 2012
- Posted: 12:44 AM, July 5, 2012
A 34-foot Silverton yacht, similar to the one that flipped over in Oyster Bay last night.
The powerboat that flipped over Wednesday night in Long Island Sound — killing three kids aboard — was carrying nearly double its maximum number of passengers, cops told The Post today.
And police are eyeing the possibility that the serious overcrowding of the 34-foot Silverton yacht out of Suffolk County was among the reasons it capsized with 27 people aboard, sources said.
The Silverton, owned by Kevin Treanor has a maximum capacity of just 15 people — 12 less than were aboard it when it departed the Harbor Boating Club in Huntington, said a Nassau County Police spokeswoman.
Online advertisements for vessels of the same make and model also state it has a 15-person capacity.
“As of now, there is no criminal charges but the investigation is ongoing,” said Police Officer Maureen Roach, a spokesman with the Nassau County PD, which is handling the probe.
“We are currently researching the cause for this boat to sink,” said Nassau County police Detective Lt. John Azzata.
“We’re looking at several avenues, one of which would be overcrowding on the boat. There were 27 people on this boat, that’s a combination of adults and children.”
“All three victims – David Aurelino 12, Kevin Treanor’s daughter Harley, 11, and Victoria Gaines, 8 -- were found in the vessel’s cabin, authorities said.
The Suffolk County children are not siblings but they’re all related, according to law enforcement sources.
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One of the boating victims is comforted by officials at the scene.
“The family is devastated,” said a woman at the home of the Candi Treanor, who is the aunt to Harley.
At Victoria’s house, a man told a reporter, “Listen, we’re hurting, we’re angry, we’ve got nothing to say.”
The two men operating the boat — Kevin Treanor and Sal Aurelino — were not drunk or otherwise impaired, authorities said. The men are brothers-in-law.
Sal Aurelino told News 12 today, “We were coming home when a wave got us, and it turned the boat around.”
Asked if was a rogue wake, Aurelino replied, “Yeah, it was dark. It was off to the side. I didn’t see it. It just happened.”
He said he first had seen “two lightening bolts” in the sky.
“I told my nephew who was in the front. Next thing I know everybody was in the water,” Aurelino said.
The 34-foot Silverton began sinking when it was in just 21 feet of water, officials said. By the time the vessel sank, it was seven-tenths of a mile out and in waters 60 feet deep.