The ferry owner who collapsed with an apparent heart attack after a car rolled off his boat Tuesday remained in critical condition Wednesday afternoon at a Watertown hospital.

Horne Ferry owner George Horne was rushed to Samaritan Medical Center Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, ferry employees say the service is closing down for the season, a little earlier than usual.

Horne's apparent heart attack took place after a bizarre incident on board the ferry, as it made its way to from Cape Vincent to Wolfe Island shortly after 2 pm.

According to state police, a Dodge Journey was not in "park" and began rolling.

The three people traveling in the car were not in the vehicle - they were safe on the deck of the ferry.

The ferry's crew tried to secure the vehicle with a line, and were able to snag a tire.

The vehicle went overboard, but because of the line did not sink all the way. Instead, it stayed close to the ferry, and the line became tangled in the ferry's propeller.

While the ferry - and vehicle - were being towed to Anchor Marina in Cape Vincent, George Horne suffered the apparent heart attack, according to state police.

Emergency crews performed CPR and used a defibrillator from a state police car on Horne.

As far as anyone at the scene could remember, this was the first time in the many years the ferry has operated that a car has fallen into the water.

"This is the first time I know of, and I've been here in the village 50 years," said Alan Ada, Cape Vincent's first assistant fire chief.

Little was known about the three people traveling with the car. Police said the car was a rental, and the three were apparently not U.S. citizens, though one of them had a Massachusetts drivers' license.

Emergency crews managed to float the vehicle Tuesday night and retrieve the occupants' belongings, including their passports.