Authorities were investigating whether a Staten Island ferry pilot lost consciousness during a routine trip across a windy New York Harbor before the mighty vessel slammedsintosa pier, killing 10 people and injuring at least 42 others, including three who lost limbs.

　　The pilot bolted the scene so quickly that he left behind his gear and his keys, then brokesintoshis houseswhereshe slit his wrists and shot himself with a pellet gun, police said.

　　The pilot was identified as Richard Smith, who was in critical condition after surgery at St Vincent's Hospital. It was the same hospitalswheres22 victims - including at least one amputee - were taken after the 3:20 pm crash, the city's worst mass transit accident in at least a generation.

　　A co-worker of Smith told authorities the pilot had been asleep, slumped over the controls.

　　National transportation Safety Board chairwoman Ellen Engleman, asked at a yesterday morning news briefing about reports that the pilot had passed out or fallen asleep at the wheel, said the NTSB has "a lot of conflicting reports as far as that. We don't want to pass on stories or rumors."Witnesses said the boat never appeared to slow down before it hit a maintenance pier, hundreds of feet from the slipsswheresthe ferries normally dock. The ferry was immediately backed up and moved to one of the passenger slips,swheresrescue crews began their work.

　　"The scene was total chaos," said passenger Frank Corchado, 29, of Staten Island, recounting a tableau of horrific sights: a decapitated man, a legless woman, a fellow passenger bleeding from his eyes.

　　"There was a lady without legs, right in the middle of the boat," he said. "She was screaming. You ever see anything like that?"

　　The dead, one woman and nine men, ranged in age from 25 to 52, police said.

　　The ferry's crew was to be interviewed and tested for drugs and alcohol, said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The crewmembers referred investigators to their union lawyers.

　　Smith was being represented by an attorney, said police, who obtained a sample of his blood for testing. Telephone messages left at his home were not returned.

　　The 90-meter craft was carrying an estimated 1,500 people, 36 of whom were treated at the scene or were immediately taken to hospitals. Six others walked away injured and went to hospitals later.

　　Corchado said he tried to help as many people as possible get out. Witnesses said some jumpedsintosthe wind-swept water and others ran as the pier chewed up the side of the boat.