Update: Police identify victim in fatal Southold crash

UPDATE

A 31-year-old Massapequa man has been identified as the victim in Saturday’s fatal crash along Main Bayview Road in Southold, town police said.

Colin Ryan was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after the 11:25 a.m. crash, according to police.

Antigone Amengual, 66, of Southold was the driver of the other vehicle, and she was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of undisclosed injuries, according to police.

ORIGINAL STORY

A man was killed and a woman was seriously injured following a head-on crash on Main Bayview Road in Southold Saturday morning, according to police.

The man was driving a Honda coupe north on Main Bayview near the intersection with Williamsburg Drive when he left his lane and struck a southbound SUV driven by the woman, according to Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley. The damage was extensive and the man died at the scene, Mr. Flatley said. The woman was airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center following the crash, which occurred shortly after 11:30 a.m.

“It took the fire department about an hour and a half to free her from the vehicle,” Mr. Flatley said. “It was the worst possible scenario as far as damage.”

There were no passengers in either vehicle. Mr. Flatley said the investigation is continuing and that police were interviewing a witness.

Greg Markotsis, a former Hicksville Fire Department volunteer who was visiting his parents’ nearby home, heard the crash and ran outside. He said it was apparent that the man had died instantly.

“I heard the bang and said ‘That’s not good,'” he recalled several hours later. “I’ve seen a lot of accidents in my day, but this was pretty hairy. The woman was talking. She said ‘He just swerved into me … It looked like he lost control of the car.'”

Dianne Wamsley, a Williamsburg Drive resident, retired Navy nurse and a former Huntington Fire Department EMT, was the second on the scene. She spotted Mr. Markotsis who was shouting for her to call 911.

“I got to the first car and the woman was oriented, alert and her airway was good so, sort of triaging the scene, I moved to the second car,” she said. “He looked like he was already almost gone. All I could see was his head and it looked like he was cyanotic. I think it was an instant thing for him.”

She said there have been several accidents on the road in the past year and that the 35 mph speed limit should be even lower.

“People think that road is straight but it does have a little edge to it,” she said. “If you’re going 55 to 60, that little edge is very unforgiving.”

Main Bayview remained closed for several hours following the crash, but reopened shortly after 3:30 p.m., Mr. Flatley said.

The names of the victims have not yet been released.

PHOTO CREDIT: Members of the Southold Fire Department respond to the scene Saturday. (Credit: Greg Markotsis)