Be careful who you ask to tow your boat.
NJ.com reports a 37-foot boat with Larchmont markings was abandoned on the side of Route 1 in South Brunswick, N.J. for hours on Thursday, causing traffic delays and even a minor car crash from rubbernecking drivers.
A tow truck driver for Otter Creek Marina — a Maryland-based boat transportation company — had been hauling the vessel from Mamaroneck to Maryland when he encountered mechanical problems traveling through South Brunswick, police said.
At around 1:30 p.m., the tow truck driver, 49-year-old Christopher White, of Forrest Hills, Md., “decided to off load the boat on the shoulder of the highway.” Instead of notifying police first, White left the boat on blocks and headed to Maryland to get a new trailer, police said.
The boat, named Maraliya and bearing a Larchmont marking, caused traffic to slow on Route 1 Thursday as drivers gawked at the unusual sight, police said. It remained on the shoulder of the busy highway for nearly five hours before police could arrange to have the vessel removed.
The boat was finally towed from Route 1 shortly after 8 p.m., police said.
The bill to tow the boat was more than $6,000, according to officials.
White was issued two summonses, one for failure to notify police of a disabled or abandon vehicle and another for obstructing the passage of vehicles.