Man's leg cut by propeller after he falls from boat on Fire Island, police say

A Suffolk County police helicopter was called in to evacuate a young man lacerated by a motorboat propeller on Fire Island, just across Great South Bay from Sayville on Sunday afternoon, according to the police.

The man, 18, of Utah, lost his balance as a 30-foot aluminum barge he was a passenger on was backing out of the Sailors Haven marina, near Cherry Grove, around 3:30 p.m., according to the police. A police spokeswoman said she did not have information on whether it was a personal or commercial vessel.

By the time police officers from the Marine Bureau arrived by boat, the victim had been removed from the water, she said. Officer Joseph Riviello applied two tourniquets to the man's leg, according to a police news release.

The victim was evacuated by helicopter to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was being treated Sunday evening for injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.