Hands Across The Water, Literally, Save Shinnecock Canal Victim

Staff Sergeant Michael Reilly set his alarm for 3 a.m. A member of the 106th Air National Guard stationed at Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton, he wanted to get to Hampton Bays, to the Shinnecock Canal, after the locks closed, when the fishing would be best. Little did he know, he’d be trying to fish something — someone — much larger than a fluke out of the water.

Arriving early Sunday morning, May 22, he settled in his preferred spot, on the western side just about opposite the locks, dropped his line in the water and proceeded to pull in fluke.

“I was catching, and then I heard a man shouting, running toward the building.” Staff Sgt. Reilly continued, referencing the lockhouse where the operator of the locks toils, on the eastern side of the canal. “He was yelling, ‘I need a boat, there’s a girl in the water!’”

A young woman, clearly inebriated, had jumped into the murky canal.

“I dropped my rod and ran a little bit less than a quarter-mile before I located the girl on my side of the canal,” he said. Staff Sgt. Reilly ran right past the Rotary Club life ring post, then wheeled around, and headed back to get it.

“I grabbed a life preserver, which set off an alarm, put my phone on speaker and dialed 911, before jumping down into the water onto a ledge that I knew was there during low tide. I gave her the life preserver, but she was intoxicated and didn’t quite get a good hold of it,” he recounted.

New York State Trooper Fabio Daino was at Club Dream across the canal on a call, when he was approached by club security alerting him to the girl in the canal. Shining his flashlight on the water, he saw she was headed toward the west side. He hopped in his trooper car and looped around.

By then, Staff Sgt. Reilly was down on the ledge, hanging on to the flat concrete of the canal wall with one hand, and, with the other, holding the girl who was in the water, combative and flailing with the life ring.

Clad in all his gear, Trooper Daino couldn’t clamber down onto the ledge. So he held on to Staff Sgt. Reilly by the hood of his sweatshirt as they waited for more help to arrive — the woman cursing in the water, Staff Sgt. Reilly hanging on to her, Trooper Daino hanging on to him.

Trooper Charles Witczak and Southampton Town police officer and fellow Air Guardsman Eric Rosante arrived on the scene, and Technical Sergeant Rosante took a turn holding Staff Sgt. Reilly by the hood.

“He was basically choking me out,” the staff sergeant recalled sheepishly.

Trooper Daino stripped off his gear and jumped down onto the ledge with Staff Sgt. Reilly.

Colleagues up on the road tied a rope to the bumper of a State Police car, and found a personal flotation device in its trunk. They tried to lift the young woman out of the water, but she was fighting too much. The pair couldn’t hoist her from the sea.

They just held on to her.

After a time, SSgt. Reilly took a break and Trooper Daino continued to hang on to the woman.

The Hampton Bays Fire Department arrived on the scene and, at last, Southampton Town Bay Constables pulled up in their boat.

“The Bay Constables scooped her up,” Trooper Daino related.

On Thursday, May 27, members of the Southampton and Hampton Bays Rotary clubs met the rescuers at the canal. In 2017, the two clubs joined forces to outfit the canal with life rings on posts. Contributions of material from Riverhead Building Supply and lots of volunteer labor brought the project to fruition.

“This is the second save in our life ring program,” Hampton Bays Rotary Club President Mark Strecker said. “We’re thrilled to be able to provide this service to the community. This is a high traffic recreational area that’s been underserved. It’s very fulfilling to make a difference in people’s lives.”

“It’s great to partner with an organization like the Hampton Bays Rotary on something so simple that can make such a huge difference,” Southampton Rotary Club President Roseane Cassella added.

Reflecting on the drama, Staff Sgt. Reilly noted that if the locks had been open, and the life ring hadn’t been handy, “she would have died.”

Reflecting further, he wondered if he wasn’t destined to save someone from drowning. Just last October, he, himself, was rescued, plucked from the sea.

He’d made acquaintance with a tuna boat captain and one day went out with him and his crew for a ride. The boat was trolling some 67 miles offshore when Staff Sgt. Reilly was swept overboard by a rogue wave.

“By the time I looked up, the boat, which had been trolling at a very fast speed, was at least 1,500 feet away. I was barely able to see it due to wave after wave slapping me in the face each time I came up for air after trying to take my boots and pants off. I was certain that this would be it for me. If not for a crew that consisted of a 14-year-old kid, a 70-plus-old man, a young surfer kid, and a captain that was able to find me in less than five minutes, I wouldn’t have been around to save this girl at the canal.”

Pulled aboard safely, he thanked the crew profusely. Humble, crew members figured Staff Sgt. Reilly would do the same for anyone else, adding that he might get the chance one day.

The staff sergeant had one last reflection. While Tech. Sgt. Rosante was holding him by the hood of his sweatshirt, the hoodie he had on was the one given to him by the tuna boat owner, “so I could have something dry to wear after being rescued.”

And a final synchronicity: Staff Sgt. Reilly works with the H60 Blackhawk helicopters, the ones used by the 106th to rescue people, often from surging floodwaters. “We are responsible for 2,974 civilian and combat search and rescue saves to date. We have rescued thousands from hurricanes and other natural disasters,” he said.