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Rear-Enders at Intersections

Thu, 05/23/2019 - 06:37

There was a three-vehicle accident on Sept. 13, at the Montauk Highway-Spring Close Highway intersection in East Hampton. At around 9 a.m., East Hampton Town police said, Kevin P. Kelly of Hauppauge, 55, was eastbound in a 2006 Mack utility truck when he was briefly distracted and ran into a trailer attached to a stopped 2001 Dodge pickup truck.

The truck driver, George E. Cooper of Kings Park, 21, told police he was trying to make a left onto Spring Close when it happened. Meanwhile, a third vehicle, a New York State Parks and Recreation Ford pickup driven by Justin J. Portell of Montauk, 43, was westbound on Montauk Highway and collided with the stopped Dodge and its trailer. Mr. Portell’s airbags deployed on impact. Mr. Cooper and Mr. Portell both complained of head pain and minor bleeding, and were taken to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital for treatment.

On Friday at around 8:30 a.m., there was a similar three-vehicle pileup, this time at the intersection of Montauk Highway and Cross Highway, near Bostwick’s in East Hampton. Police said Erika P. Quichimbo of Montauk, 20, was westbound in a 2002 Jaguar when she rear-ended a 2017 Edge Auto Rental Ford truck that was stopped ahead of her waiting to turn left onto Cross Highway. The Ford was forced into another Edge Auto Rental Ford in front of it.

Neither of the Ford drivers, Jose R. Salas of the Bronx, 37, and Hassan Abdellah of Jersey City, 48, was injured. Ms. Quichimbo’s Jaguar was towed, and she complained of upper arm pain at the scene but refused medical attention.

About an hour later, at the intersection of Three Mile Harbor Road and Copeces Lane in Springs, yet another rear-ender occurred. Keith Holt Ellis of East Hampton, 20, told police he had stopped his 2004 Chevrolet truck with the left blinker on while waiting to turn onto Copeces, when a 2007 Honda ran into him.

The Honda driver, Jennifer Baker of East Hampton, 45, who had a 9-year-old in the passenger seat, told police Mr. Ellis had stopped short without signaling the turn. Her airbags deployed, and she complained of pain throughout her body. The child, Brionna Forrester, suffered face pain and minor bleeding. Both were transported to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital by a Springs Fire Department ambulance. Mr. Ellis complained of head pain but was not taken to the hospital.

Also Friday morning, on Route 114 near Harness Lane in East Hampton, a deer went through the front window of a moving 2000 Toyota. Molly L. Xanthos of Brookhaven, 58, told police that the deer had managed to break free on its own, leaving her with minor lacerations and pain in her left shoulder. She was shaken up but declined medical attention.

On Sunday, the 17-year-old driver of a 2014 Mini Cooper hit a tree on Abram’s Landing Road in Amagansett. The teen, Noah John Gualtieri of Amagansett, told police he had just come around a turn at the intersection of Cross Highway to Devon when the vehicle left the road. The young man suffered lower-arm pain, but neither he nor his passenger, Valentina Vaney, 18, was taken away for treatment.

A 60-year-old on a moped was involved in a single-vehicle accident on Underwood Drive in Springs on Sept. 11. At around 1:40 p.m., Fili-Berto A. Arayo of East Hampton was driving a 2012 Kawasaki moped registered in the name of Carlos M. Vargas, when, he told police, he lost control after hitting a patch of gravel.

Mr. Arayo, who was wearing a helmet, fell off the bike and suffered right-upper-arm pain and bruises. He was transported to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital and released after treatment. Police charged him with unlicensed driving.

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Wielding a Samurai Sword

With a black Samurai-style sword in hand, a 33-year-old man from Newburgh, N.Y., allegedly threatened another man on Saturday night near Camp Hero on Coast Artillery Road in Montauk. His target locked himself in his car and called police as the sword-wielder approached. 

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