Crime & Safety

Drunk Boater Crashed Into Vessel, Police Say

Incident occurred near Pavinci's on Saturday night, according to authorities.

A drunk man crashed his boat into another vessel in the River Styx cove area of Lake Hopatcong near on Saturday night, according to .

Police said Lawrence Lohr, 44, of Budd Lake, refused to take an alcohol breath test after they found him on his boat at the crash site.

Police said they received a report of a crash near the River Styx bridge just before midnight and found the boats about 1,500 feet into the cove in front of Pavinci’s. Officers used a civilian boat from to get to the vessels after the State Police Marine Division said it did not have a boat on the lake at the time and estimated it would be an hour until they could get to the site.

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Police say when they arrived they found one boat with a hole in its side, but it was not taking on water. The other boat was driven by Lohr, police said. Police said they then had both boats return to Johnny’s Marina.

Lohr said he did not see the other boat, which he claimed did not have its running lights on, police said. He said when he saw the boat he swerved and sideswiped the other boat, police said.

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The driver of the other boat and its passengers said they heard the sound of Lohr’s boat’s engine coming closer at a speed they believed was greater than the no wake law, and that it swerved and sideswiped their boat, police said.

Police said that Lohr failed a field sobriety test, was taken to police headquarters, and he refused to take a breath test. Lohr was taken to the hospital with a head injury and blood was drawn for alcohol testing purposes, police said.

Police also said that the boat Lohr allegedly struck later began taking on water and it was pulled from the lake by a friend who had a trailer.

Lohr was charged with DWI on a vessel, reckless driving on a vessel, and refusal to take the breath test, police said.


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