Teen charged after found unconscious on boat in Newport

A 17-year-old boy found was unconscious on a boat circling the waters near Bailey’s Beach in Newport Thursday afternoon.

The discovery prompted a massive search as authorities initially feared someone else could still be in the water.

The teenage boy was rushed to Newport Hospital. ABC 6 News has learned he is facing charges for boating under the influence and refusal to take a breathalyzer.

"The boat was in gear and doing circles so it didn’t look like it was a good situation,” said Kevin Cody the man who found the passed out teen and helped bring him to shore. "He was lying on the deck of the boat probably on top of the wake board so I didn’t know if he fell or passed out or had a medical condition or something."

Cody says he rushed back to shore telling anyone he could to call 911. He says he and other bystanders helped get the boat back to land.

"Put the boat into the waves threw the anchor out until some people could get out and stabilize the boat a little,” said Cody.

Cody says he did start to cough before he was taken away.

"It was pretty scary seeing this boat drift in not know what was going on,” said Cameron Brazill another beachgoer.

A wake board was found on board the boat. That’s what initially had authorities worried that someone else could have been in the water.

The Coast Guard and the Narragansett Bay Marine Taskforce searched all the way to Gooseberry Island for hours.

Authorities later determined the teen was on the boat alone and the search was called off.

© WLNE-TV / ABC6  2016