BWI Charge Dropped In Fatal Long Island Boat Crash

MATTITUCK, NY — A boating while intoxicated charge has been dropped against the boat operator involved in fatal Mattituck crash that left one woman dead and three injured, Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini said.

The BWI charge against Francesco Distefano, 48, of East Northport has been dropped, Sini said.

"The Suffolk County District Attorney’s office secured a court order to test blood which was drawn from the suspected operator immediately upon his arrival to the hospital," Sini said in a statement to Patch. "The toxicology report indicated that the blood alcohol content was under the legal threshold for a criminal charge."

The crash remains under criminal investigation, Sini said, "including a thorough, forensic analysis of all the available evidence." Law enforcement is asking anyone with information to call the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office at (631) 853-4161.

The community remains cloaked in mourning for Kelley Blanchard, 27, who lost her life in the crash. Broken-hearted friends turned to social media to share their memories — and others reached out through a GoFundMe fundraiser to help her family, including her sister Megan, who was seriously injured in the crash.

The vessel crashed into a bulkhead fronting on Great Peconic Bay about 200 feet west of the entrance to James Creek, police said. Distefano and passengers Nick Soullas, 41, of Jamesport, and Megan Blanchard, 29, of New Suffolk, were all injured, police said.

Blanchard and her sister have long been familiar faces at Michelangelo's pizzeria in Mattituck, which Distefano owns, according to the New York Post.

The GoFundMe page, "In Honor of Kelley Blanchard," was created by Elizabeth Bannon and as of Monday raised $14,415.