Man Jumps Off Fire Island Ferry, Fined $2,500

BAY SHORE, NY — A Queens man is facing a $2,500 fine after he jumped off a Fire Island ferry that was pulling into Bay Shore on Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed with Patch.

On July 4, travelers on the ferry from Ocean Beach told officials they heard passengers daring the man, 24, to jump for $1,000, said Dave Anderson, owner of Fire Island ferries.

Video of the man leaping off the vessel was widely shared on social media. About 360 passengers total were on the board the ferry at that time, a Coast Guard representative told Patch.

The crew made "every attempt" to get the man back onto the boat, but he refused, Anderson said.

"It just disrupted the entire operation because now the captain and the crew have to go into their man-over-board procedures and try and rescue this guy," he said.

Since the ferry was returning to Bay Shore, the water was "very shallow" at the time of the jump, and risked doing bodily injury to himself.

It was also in motion, and therefore it was a dangerous action, Anderson said.

"There are three giant propellers that propel that ferry through the water," he said. "And he did run the risk of getting chewed up by that. That would basically leave not much left of him, as a better way to put it."

The U.S. Coast Guard is also investigating the incident, a representative told Patch.