Posted on 01/26/2004 3:04:25 AM PST by Pharmboy
The body of a 34-year-old man was pulled from his automobile yesterday after it ran off a pier into the frigid waters off Staten Island, the police said.
Investigators identified the man last night as James Vurckio, of 30 Ramona Avenue in Staten Island. They said his body was removed from his red 1998 Mercury Mountaineer after it was pulled from Great Kills Harbor, the small, circular anchorage adjacent to Great Kills Park on the eastern shore of Staten Island.
The police said that there were no signs that Mr. Vurckio had been injured or was involved in a struggle before his vehicle plunged into the water. The exact cause of death would have to be determined by the city medical examiner, they said.
The pier is owned by the Great Kills Yacht Club, the police said. An officer of the small club, John Scarcella, said he was hard-pressed to explain how Mr. Vurckio, who was not a member of the club, could have driven off the pier.
It sits about 200 feet from a security gate and chain-link fence, and he was apparently able to drive through without any signs of forced entry. People on the scene said the security gate would not have been attended early yesterday morning, but could have been opened by someone with a key card for its lock.
"This is just horrible," said Mr. Scarcella, the vice commodore of the club. "We are a people club. It is a kind bunch of people." He said the club's members were more likely to be civil servants and small-business people than wealthy owners of large pleasure craft.
By early last night, it remained unclear when Mr. Vurckio's vehicle went off the pier.
The police said they received a call at about 10:30 a.m. saying there was a car submerged off the yacht club pier.
Mr. Scarcella later estimated that the vehicle would have been in 8 to 10 feet of water.
To prevent such incidents, the yacht club had placed heavy wood blocks, about 20 inches high, at the end of the pier. Some of the blocks had clearly been battered or removed late yesterday.
The yacht club and its pier, at 37 Mansion Avenue, are largely idle for the winter, and several power boats and other vessels are sitting in dry dock.
Janon Fisher contributed reporting for this article.
But wait, there's more!
Great Kills Harbor, the small, circular anchorage adjacent to Great Kills Park on the eastern shore of Staten Island. The pier is owned by the Great Kills Yacht Club, the police said.
Know about it? My goodness, it was named in his honor! Staten Island is also the home of Fresh Kills landfill.
And a place called Flushing!
Just to take a guess I'd say it went off the pier just before it hit the water.
Only club members can drive off the pier.
How sad to have you death overshadowed by an irresistable pun.
Yes, they do. But, fortunately for us they only kill their masters.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.