Privacy update — September 18, 2026: Identifying details have been removed under our victim privacy policy.
What Happened
Michael Collins, 20, of Mineola, was arrested on boating under the influence charges months after his friend, 20, drowned when a canoe capsized on Lake Hayward in East Haddam, Connecticut on March 21, according to the Connecticut DEEP Environmental Conservation Police via the New York Post.
Collins and his friend were both students at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. According to police and Boston.com, the two were out on Lake Hayward with a group of friends and had allegedly been drinking before the group decided to launch the canoe. The canoe then suddenly capsized, sending both men into the water. Good Samaritans on the scene managed to rescue Collins, but the other man, a resident of Woodstock, Connecticut, went “missing in the water,” according to a statement from the Connecticut DEEP Environmental Conservation Police. The victim’s body was recovered from the lake two days later following an extensive search.
The New York Post reports that a warrant was issued for Collins’ arrest, and he turned himself in to police last Friday — more than a week after that warrant was issued and roughly four months after the accident itself. Collins was subsequently released from custody and is scheduled to return to court on July 23.
Friends and family remembered the victim as a standout personality who excelled in sports. His former baseball coach, Mike Sampson, told Fox61: “He was a special kid. He was so exuberant, such a big energy, a big personality. To know him was to really enjoy him, to love him.” A longtime friend added: “He was always such a bright light. There was never a time where you weren’t smiling or laughing. Genuinely, there’s no one that could replace him.”
Location & Road Context
Lake Hayward is located in East Haddam, Connecticut, a rural town in Middlesex County roughly two hours northeast of Mineola, Long Island — Collins’ hometown. The lake is a recreational body of water, and the incident underscores the risks associated with boating under the influence on open water, where capsizing incidents can turn fatal rapidly, particularly in colder spring conditions. East Haddam is outside Long Island Traffic’s primary coverage area, but the case has direct Long Island ties through Collins, who is from Nassau County.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Collins faces boating under the influence charges filed by the Connecticut DEEP Environmental Conservation Police, according to the New York Post. The arrest came months after the March 21 incident, with the warrant being issued before Collins voluntarily surrendered to authorities last Friday. He was released following his arrest and is due back in a Connecticut court on July 23, 2026.