Five people are killed in a crash in the Hamptons that is being blamed on speeding.
In one of at least three fatal crashes in and around the city on Saturday, a driver veered into the opposite lane and collided head-on with another vehicle.
Over the weekend, a group of friends was traveling on a two-lane highway in the Hamptons when a speeding driver veered across the dividing line and collided with them, killing four people and himself, police said.
Two brothers were killed in the crash on Montauk Highway in Quogue Village, and a 22-year-old woman was critically injured. It was one of at least three crashes reported by police on Saturday that involved either speeding, alcohol, or both. Eight people were killed and five were injured in the Hamptons crash, while two others were injured in Queens and Manhattan, police said.
According to the Quogue Village Police Department, Justin B. Mendez, driving a red Nissan Maxima, struck a Toyota Prius heading east head-on in the Hamptons crash. Officers responded to the crash in Quogue Village at approximately 11:19 p.m., according to a department statement.
Farhan Zahid, 32, an Uber driver from Bay Shore, died at the scene, as did three of his passengers: Ryan J. Kiess, 25, and Michael O. and James P. Farrell, both of Manhasset. Brianna M. Maglio, 22, of Garden City, was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center in critical condition as the fourth passenger.
Mr. Zahid had been driving for Uber for two years and was on a trip at the time of the crash, according to an email statement.
At Southampton Hospital, Mr. Mendez, 22, was pronounced dead. According to police, investigators believe he was speeding.
Melissa Barrett Rhodes stated in an online comment that she lives near the crash site and witnessed the aftermath. She stated that it occurred on a blind curve where drivers rarely deviate from the posted speed limit.
“There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t see someone speeding around that curve,” she wrote in Dan’s Papers, a Hamptons news site. “Everyone in Quogue is convinced that this site is a death trap.”
On Sunday, she did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Lieutenant Daniel Hartman, a 15-year veteran of the department, stated that he had never dealt with a crash or received a complaint regarding that stretch of highway during his career. Thousands of cars pass through the highway without incident, he said, but the possibility of danger exists.
“It’s a fairly steep turn; there is a grade,” he explained. “If you exceed the recommended speed, it could be dangerous. However, if you travel at the posted speed limit, it is a very safe, frequently traveled road that we have no problems with.”
Three additional people were killed earlier on Saturday, including a 10-year-old girl from Copiague, in separate crashes involving intoxicated drivers.
Isabella Granobles was riding in a Chevrolet Cruze sedan driven by her mother, Diana Granobles, 31, as she made a left turn onto Guy R. Brewer Boulevard in Queens. As she rounded the corner, a Nissan Altima traveling west on Rockaway Boulevard collided with her vehicle.
The mother and daughter were rushed to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center following the crash near John F. Kennedy International Airport.
According to the Queens district attorney’s office, officers at the scene reported that the other driver, Tyrone Absolam, 42, had bloodshot eyes and failed two field sobriety tests. Additionally, the police stated that he was driving “at a high rate of speed.”
Mr. Absolam was taken to the hospital in police custody along with his front passenger, a 38-year-old woman in critical condition. The police said a 12-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl who were seated in the back of the car were stabilized in serious condition at Long Island Jewish Medical Center.
According to the Queens district attorney’s office, Mr. Absolam faces several charges, including aggravated vehicular homicide, manslaughter, assault, child endangerment, and driving while intoxicated. He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison if convicted on the top count.
He was awaiting arraignment in Queens criminal court late Sunday.
Jason Graham was riding his motorcycle southbound down Frederick Douglass Boulevard early Saturday when he was killed when a Dodge Durango driven by a man who police said had too much to drink slammed into him as it headed east at West 142nd Street.
Mr. Graham, 41, of Newburgh, New York, died in Harlem Hospital. Batista Rosario, 30, of Poughkeepsie, New York, remained at the scene and was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.
