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Fiery Motorcycle Wreck on Napeague

Thu, 07/16/2020 - 12:42
A motorcyclist walked away mostly unhurt after dodging a collision and falling from his Kawasaki, which hit a guardrail and burst into flames.
Doug Kuntz

In a fiery 2 a.m. crash more dramatic than harmful, Matthew Porcelli's motorcycle erupted in flames on Sunday as he was riding east on Montauk Highway near Surf Drive in Amagansett.

Mr. Porcelli, 21, of Commack, told East Hampton Town police he had swerved into the oncoming lane to avoid a collision, lost control, and fell off the 2020 Kawasaki, which collided with a guard rail and burst into flames. The young man got off easy, with road rash to his back but no broken bones. 

Amagansett firefighters extinguished the flames, and an Amagansett Fire Department ambulance took Mr. Porcelli to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital to be checked out. He was released after treatment. 

On the afternoon of July 6, at the Route 27 intersection with Wainscott Northwest Road, Sergio Arnold Lopez, 38, of West Haven, Conn., driving a 2004 Ford Pickup truck, rear-ended Robert Edlund's 2004 Dodge. Neither Mr. Edlund, of Mastic Beach, nor Mr. Lopez required medical attention, though both Mr. Edlund and his passenger, Justin Knaptik, complained of neck pain.

Mouhamadou Gaye of East Hampton, 21, told town police he had fallen asleep at the wheel on Friday morning before running off the road at the intersection of Accabonac Road and Collins Avenue, into some small trees. He was driving an Enterprise Rent-a-Car, which was badly damaged and was towed by V&V Auto.

On the Police Logs 01.08.26

A white van had been parked outside his house in Wainscott for about an hour, a caller reported Saturday evening. An officer drove over, saw the van parked outside the house with its hazard lights on, and spoke to the driver, who identified himself as an Amazon employee.

Jan 8, 2026

Witnesses Disputed His Story

A Hyundai sedan overturned Monday morning after striking a landscaping truck on Toilsome Lane, injuring the Hyundai’s driver, whose account of the accident was questioned.

Jan 8, 2026

Failed to Signal and Keep in Lane

A local man is facing two drunken-driving felony charges after a traffic stop in East Hampton on Friday night.

Jan 8, 2026

Assault With Glass Alleged

A Bay Shore woman was arrested on a felony assault charge early Saturday morning at a residence on Old Montauk Highway in Montauk.

Jan 8, 2026

 

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