Coast Guard Assists Heart Attack Victim

Updated, Sept. 3: The man who suffered a heart attack while aboard a boat off Montauk Inlet on Thursday died at Southampton Hospital.

The family of James D. Griffin of Montauk said he went into cardiac arrest aboard his boat after a morning of fishing. He was 67, not 60 as was originally reported by the Coast Guard. 

A full obituary for Mr. Griffin will appear in a future edition of The Star. 

Originally, Aug. 28: When a 60-year-old man had a heart attack while aboard a boat off of Montauk Inlet on Thursday morning, the Coast Guard assisted in getting him fast medical attention. 

The recreational vessel Next Move was less than one mile off the inlet when a crewmember contacted watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound at about 9:30 a.m., according to a statement from the Coast Guard. The man was already unconscious. 

Coast Guard Station Montauk launched a 25-foot response boat to meet the Next Move, according to Chief Jason Walter. Two from the Coast Guard went aboard to assess the man, who was unconscious and unresponsive. They started cardiopulmonary resuscitation and attached an automated external defibrillator, which delivered a shock.

The captain continued to the town pump out dock on Star Island Drive, where a paid paramedic with the Montauk Fire Department and East Hampton Town police were waiting. A Montauk ambulance transported the man to the hospital. His condition was not immediately known.

The Coast Guard did not release the patient's name.