Powerboat Driver Who Struck Gazebo Facing Additional Charge

The driver of the powerboat that plowed into a gazebo on came to survey the damage this morning and apologize to the owner.

"I'm so sorry," David M. McDermott said to Ann Schuld, who owns the riverfront home in the Toms River Shores section of the township with her husband George.

McDermott, 53, Jackson, and his wife walked around the 40-foot power cruiser, which is still perched on an angle in the sand in the Schuld's side yard.

"He came to apologize," Schuld said later. "He didn't even care about the boat."

New Jersey State Police charged McDermott with driving under the influence and reckless operation of a vessel, State Police Sgt. Stephen Jones said.

Just how the boat left the Toms River and ripped into the Schuld's gazebo is still under investigation, Jones said.

The boat isn't going anywhere, at least until tomorrow morning. Tow Boat U.S.  employees and an insurance representative were on the scene today trying to figure out the best way to remove it, which may include using a crane.

"It doesn't look too bad, compared to what I thought it would be," said an marine insurance adjuster who asked not to be identified. "I've seen people do this sober, too. It gets a little dicey at night."

Captain Tom Hurst, owner of Tow Boat US, called the boat's removal "just routine."

"It's not earth-shattering," he said.

It's the third time this month that his company has been called to tow boats that have run aground, Hurst said.