Police: Man Drunk When He Crashed Boat

One man was charged with operating a vessel while under the influence after a boat crash on Lake Hopatcong late last week that damaged a dock, according to the New Jersey State Police.

Scott Fitzgerald, 49, of Hopatcong, was charged after Jefferson Township police received the call last Thursday night. Police and responded to the scene.

"We notified the state police and contained the scene until their arrival, as they had no one at the Lake Hopatcong station at the time," said Capt. Eric Wilsusen, of the Jefferson Township Police.

Jefferson officers determined Fitzgerald may have been intoxicated. He and his passenger, Charles Nappi, 48, of Rockaway, were transported to the Dover campus of St. Clare's Hospital.

State police took over the scene at that point, issuing Fitzgerald the summons.

"We were en route to responding to the call on Lake Hopatcong when we were informed that the driver of the boat was being transported to St. Clare's in Dover. We then went to the hospital," said Trooper Christopher Kay, of the New Jersey State Police.

According to neighbors, the boat hit a dock, soared over a dinghy, leaving dock fragments in the dinghy, and came to rest on the bank.