Update, July 3, 6 p.m.: East Hampton Town police said late Sunday afternoon that a 70-year-old bicyclist from Amagansett had died in an accident that closed Montauk Highway on the Napeague stretch earlier that day.
Russell Windsor, the cyclist, had apparently "entered the roadway from the eastbound shoulder of the road, causing the crash to occur," according to police. Mohammad Rahman, heading east in a 2011 Toyota Sienna, struck Mr. Windsor shortly after 11 a.m. He "remained at the scene and is cooperating fully with the investigation," police said in a statement. "No criminality is suspected at this time."
Mr. Windsor was transported by an ambulance from the Amagansett Fire Department to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, and was pronounced dead there.
The police statement on Sunday evening confirmed news that had been passing by word of mouth since midday — that a bicyclist had been killed that morning after having been struck by a car on the Napeague Stretch.
The Toyota was impounded for a safety inspection. Police are continuing the investigation and have asked anyone with information to contact East Hampton Town detectives at 631-537-7575.
Original, July 3, 2:43 p.m.: Traffic into and out of Montauk was shut down on Sunday after a serious accident on Montauk Highway on the Napeague Stretch, near the Lobster Roll restaurant. The road was closed to both westbound and eastbound traffic as East Hampton police detectives investigated, according to a "traffic alert" posted on Facebook around 1 p.m. by the East Hampton Town Police Department. Police confirmed to 27East.com that the accident involved a bicyclist and a motor vehicle, but details are not yet known.
The police announcement said that there would be "full closures" for "the next two hours" after the time of the announcement: "Please avoid the area unless absolutely necessary as there will be no detour around the scene at certain times as investigators work the scene."
The Napeague Stretch is the narrowest point of the South Fork, and for a distance of about a mile and a half there is only one road in and out.
At 2 p.m. on Sunday, The Star was told by bystanders that they had been unable to leave Montauk for "a few hours," due to the accident, and that the emergency-response dispatchers for the town had been fielding calls from motorists calling 911 because they were concerned about not being able to cross the Stretch between Amagansett and Montauk. Just before 3 p.m., a witness at the Lobster Roll restaurant told The Star that the road remained closed.
This is a developing story.
