Long Island Man Among 3 Killed in Hudson River Tugboat Crash

A 29-year-old Long Island man was among three people killed following a tugboat crash in the Hudson River on Saturday afternoon.

The body of Timothy Conklin, of Westbury, was found by divers inside the boat Sunday morning while Paul Amon, 63, of Bayville, N.J., was pulled from 40-degree waters on Saturday, according to lohud.com.

The third crew member, Harry Hernandez, 56, of Staten Island, is still missing and is presumed dead, lohud reports. Police are continuing to search for his body by boat and helicopter, the article says.

According to the Gov. Andrew Cuomo, three tugboats were transporting a barge with construction equipment southbound on the Hudson River on Saturday when one of the tugs named Specialist, which had the three crew members on board, struck a construction barge near the Tappan Zee Bridge and sunk within minutes.

The tug leaked up to 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel, creating a fuel slick approximately 100 yards wide and 5 miles long.

There were no injuries to the 13 workers who were on the stationary barge.

Conklin, who graduated from St. Antony’s High School, was stationed out of Staten Island and was working to become a tugboat pilot, Newsday says.

“That was his dream, to work on a tugboat,” Conklin’s uncle told Newsday.

Law enforcement is conducting a full investigation to figure out what led to the tugboat crash, Cuomo said Saturday.

Crews are continuing to work to clean up the diesel fuel that spilled when the crash occurred.

Patch file photo