Cat Missing, Owner Frantic After Ferry Accident

A day after a car accident on the North Ferry in Greenport, a woman remains hospitalized and frantic with worry about her cat, Scarlett, who got out of the car and ran away in the confusion.

An elderly man and a passenger were injured after a motor vehicle accident onboard the North Ferry on Saturday, police said.

Astoria resident Sandra Quilles, the passenger in the accident, remained at Stony Brook Hospital Monday, with fractured ribs and a fractured finger, as well as back injuries and damage to oral surgery she'd had only hours before the incident, she said.

But worst of all, Quilles said, is that her beloved cat has gone missing.

Sobbing, Quilles said Scarlett, an 11 lb., long-haired, very furry black cat with a fluffy black tail, greenish-gold eyes, a jagged edge to her ear, and a white stripe on her belly, escaped after her carrier was damaged in the accident. When the door to the car was opened, "She just ran out and no one grabbed her," Quilles said. "She just ran off the ferry."

Scarlett, Quilles said, is a very special cat, one she's had for four years, since adopting her from the Cat Assistance program in Westchester County.

"She had been beaten as a kitten and thrown out into the garbage," Quilles said. "She's been through so much. She's traumatized from what she went through, so she hides. She's always scared."

But with love, Quilles said, her cat blossomed. "She's a very special cat," she said. "She's very sweet."

Quilles believes her cat, who is timid, may be hiding in some dark, or quiet place, in the ferry area, and she implores anyone in the Greenport area to help bring her home.

"I will give a very significant reward to whoever finds her," she said.

Anyone who finds Scarlett should call  212-684-4747.

According to Southold Town police, the accident took place on Saturday at 5:54 p.m. when an elderly man, 85, of New York, was driving his 2006 Cadillac onto the ferry boat Manhasett out of Greenport and accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake, causing the vehicle to accelerate at a high rate of speed and strike the forward metal gunwale of the ferry. 

The force of the impact caused the vehicle to turn sideways; the rear bumper struck another vehicle that was already parked on the ferry, police said. 

The Cadillac sustained major damage and had to be towed off the ferry, and both the driver and passenger were taken to Eastern Long Island Hospital for treatment by Greenport rescue, police said.

The ferry also sustained damage and had to be taken out of commission until repairs could be made.