Bx. man drowns in L.I. Sound

A 46-YEAR-OLD Bronx man drowned in a bizarre boating mishap, police said Saturday.

Jesus Ortega and a pal were fishing from an anchored boat near the Stepping Stone Lighthouse near Throggs Neck and panicked when they thought a cruising power boat was going to run into them, police said. Both men jumped into the Long Island Sound to avoid the 32-foot Albin power boat around 11:40 p.m. Friday, police said.

When the boat passed without hitting them, Ortega’s 53-year-old friend managed to climb back aboard, but Ortega was unable, cops said. Members of the NYPD harbor unit pulled Ortega out of the water and rushed him ashore to SUNY Maritime College. From there he was transferred to Jacobi Medical Center, where he later died, officials said. His friend was uninjured.