Local hurt in fatal boat accident

William Wittenberg, 49, of Baldwin, was aboard a 19-foot Garvey skiff that ran into a wooden piling in Woodcleft Channel on March 2. Wittenberg and another passenger were injured, while a third — respected Freeport bayman Cornell “Cory” Weyant — was killed in the incident.

The three men were returning from a goose-hunting trip when they noticed a problem with the boat’s drain plug. Detective Lt. Kevin Smith of the Nassau County Police Department said in a statement that Weyant was steering the boat when he became distracted by the problem and crashed into “a piling supporting a metal navigation sign by the west side of Guy Lombardo Marina.”

According to the Nassau County Police Marine Bureau, which reconstructed the conditions of the accident, the craft was probably traveling between 30 and 35 mph when it ran into the piling. There is no speed limit in the channel, police said.

When the boat hit the 10-foot-tall piling — which is about the width of a telephone pole — Weyant, 54, hit his head and tumbled into the water. Wittenberg was tossed into the bow of the boat and injured his back, and the third passenger, Owen Patterson, 58, also of Freeport, was thrown into the channel. He climbed back into the boat, hauled Weyant aboard, piloted the craft to shore and called 911. He also began administering CPR to Weyant.

Weyant and Wittenberg were transported to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow. Patterson declined aid at the scene, but later went to the hospital seeking treatment. Wittenberg was in stable condition with what police called a “severe back injury.” Weyant succumbed to his wounds.

He was a lifelong lover of the sea and an ever-present source of community spirit, according to those who knew him and his death sent shock waves through the marine community. Nancy Solomon of Long Island Traditions, a community organization dedicated to the “preservation of Long Island’s contemporary maritime and farming culture,” told the Herald that Weyant was “truly larger than life and will be sorely missed.”

Weyant made his living crabbing and eeling in the waters around Long Island, but also spent a good deal of his time educating young people about the value of the bays. Since 1988 he had served as master educator for Long Island Traditions, presenting educational programs about Freeport’s working waterfront to children at maritime festivals, museums and schools. He also worked as a tour guide in the area.

Weyant is survived by his wife, Priscilla, and a son, Collin. Long Island Traditions has established a trust fund for Collin. To read more about it or to contribute, visit longislandtraditions.org.

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