Three Sent to Hospital After Cigarette Boat Rolls and Capsizes

The U.S. Coast Guard pulled three people from the water Monday afternoon after they were ejected from a cigarette boat that rolled twice and capsized in a high-speed accident in the bay near Ocean City.

"It was screaming down the bay," said Brian Huntsman, an instructor who was working outside the club (on the bay at Battersea Avenue) on Monday afternoon about 1:20 p.m.

Huntsman said the boat (a 38-foot Cigarette Top Gun) was traveling northward from the direction of the Route 52 causeway when it took a sharp left turn toward Somers Point. He said the turn buried the bow of the boat and it "barrel rolled" sideways, dumping the three passengers on the first spin and sending parts of the boat flying on the second spin.

The boat was briefly pointed toward the sky before it quickly sank.

At about the same time, a Coast Guard patrol was crossing under the Ocean City-Longport Bridge on its way back to the Great Egg Station on Ocean City's North Point Lagoon. The Coast Guard patrol was within sight of the accident when they got the call.

Patrol members said a "good Samaritan" boat was already on the scene and that passengers thrown from the cigarette boat were clinging to the side.

The Coast Guard transported the three passengers to the Great Egg Station, where they taken to Shore Memorial Hospital by a rescue squad. Patrol members said the three people appeared to be in fair condition. One complained of chest pain and shortness of breath.

The New Jersey State Marine Police station in Atlantic City identified the owner of the boat as Robert Gendelman of Pennsylvania. He was a passenger when the accident occurred.

Tracy Blumenstein of Margate was operating the boat, police said. Chris Biddle of Margate was the other passenger. They said injuries to the passengers were not serious.

Police said the boat had recently been purchased in Maryland. They said it was going too fast for the conditions or the capabilities of the boat. Trooper Jamie Ablett is the investigating officer.

A crew from TowBoat U.S. Shamrock Marine Towing was on the scene shortly after the accident, salvaging the boat and returning it to the salvage company's nearby yard in Somers Point.

The salvage operation led by Capt. John C. Bodin and John Ryan involved attaching lines to eye-bolts on the stern and using a crane to roll the water-filled boat. They were then able to pump water from the boat until it floated again.