Shoreline Jet Ski Crash Kills Wolcott Man

UPDATE (Monday 11:40 a.m.)

The 34-year-old man killed in a personal watercraft crash Sunday night in Lyme has been identified as Austin P. Mordowanec of Wolcott.

The press release:

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) today said that the victim of the personal watercraft accident Sunday on the Connecticut River in Lyme was Austin P. Mordowanec, 34 of Wolcott.

DEEP’s Environmental Conservation (EnCon) Police received a report at approximately 6:00 PM yesterday from the Connecticut State Police of a personal water craft having crashed into a dock.  EnCon Police responded along with local emergency responders and found the operator of the vessel unresponsive.  Lyme emergency medical responders pronounced the victim dead at the scene.

DEEP’s EnCon Police and their Boating Accident Reconstruction Unit are continuing to investigate the incident.

Original story (Sunday, 11 p.m.)

A man died when his jet ski crashed into a private dock at Hamburg Cove in Lyme late Sunday afternoon. Lyme emergency medical responders pronounced the man dead at the scene. The man was the only person riding the personal watercraft at the time of the collision.

Police are waiting to release his identity pending notification of his family but will say that the man was a 34-year-old Connecticut resident. State Police from Troop F in Westbrook were first on the scene but turned the investigation over to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) at about 6 p.m.

DEEP’s State Environmental Conservation Police are responsible for investigating any accident that happens on the water in Connecticut. DEEP police remained on the scene for several hours taking witness statements. However, the cause of the accident is unknown at this point.

Dwayne Gardner, spokesman for the DEEP, said the investigation probably won’t be completed for several weeks.