Major traffic on South Fork caused by fatal crash on County Rd 39 cover art

Major traffic on South Fork caused by fatal crash on County Rd 39

Major traffic on South Fork caused by fatal crash on County Rd 39

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 County Road 39 was closed in both directions between Shrubland Road and Tuckahoe Road in Southampton yesterday afternoon and evening for about 4 hours due to a fatal multiple-vehicle accident that occurred shortly before 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, just as the afternoon rush hour was beginning.As reported on 27east.com, Southampton Town Police said that the accident was caused when the delivery truck driver who was killed in the collision strayed from the eastbound lane of travel and sideswiped three westbound vehicles before striking a fourth vehicle head-on.Three people from the other vehicles involved were taken to Stony Brook Southampton by ambulances from the Southampton Volunteer Ambulance for treatment of minor injuries.The accident left debris and construction equipment strewn across the roadway, police said, and required a detailed investigation to determine the sequence of the incident.The Southampton Fire Department’s heavy rescue unit was called in to extricate the body of the deceased driver from the vehicle. The body has been turned over to the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s office for examination.Southampton Town Police have identified the man killed in yesterday’s crash as Anasser Almontaser, age 33, of Staten Island. They had previously said that he was driving a 2014 GMC commercial van and was heading east into Southampton when the crash occurred.Conty Road 39 was reopened at about 7:30 last night but the lagging traffic backups were still leading to long lines of traffic in much of downtown Southampton Village as late as 9 p.m.***A Southampton flight instructor crash-landed a small plane that experienced engine trouble into the Hudson River in total darkness on Monday night near New Windsor in upstate New York — a feat that other experienced pilots said was a masterful display of flying skill. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that New York State Police say that two people were aboard the plane when it crashed: the pilot, Liam D’arcy, 31, and a 17-year-old flight student whom they did not identify.FAA records indicate that the plane, a single-engined 1978 Cessna 172, is owned by American Airman Inc., which operates a flight school based at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma.D’Arcy is also a lifeguard who worked for many years at Gurney’s Montauk Resort.The plane had taken off from MacArthur shortly before 7 p.m. Monday and flown north to New York Stewart International Airport in New Windsor, where it landed briefly and then took off again, according to the flight tracking app Flight Aware.After heading southeast again back toward Long Island for a short period the plane did an about-face and headed back toward Stewart Airport.State Police said the pilot reported experiencing engine trouble.A local pilot who is familiar with the incident said that the engine lost oil pressure and started to stall. The plane was only at an altitude of 2,500 feet and the pilot realized the plane was not going to be able to glide back to the airport and deliberately turned back out over the river where it would be safer to make a crash-landing.“This is where he displayed amazing aeronautical decision-making — he knew continuing toward the airport was a bad idea because it was too far away … and between him and the airport was just residential homes and dense forested hills,” said Kathryn Slye, a veteran pilot from East Hampton who knows D’arcy from East Hampton Airport.“He was talking to Stewart tower [air traffic control] who did an excellent job giving him all the right information and coordinating how best to rescue him — including reminding him of the Newburgh Bridge, which Liam saw and turned back away from.”Another pilot who said he knows D’Arcy from flying out of East Hampton Airport in recent years said that he’d found him to be knowledgeable and professional around aircraft.“He always struck me as a good, responsible pilot and a great instructor. He is just generally a smart guy,” the pilot, who asked not to be named, said. “You can tell from this he remained calm under difficult circumstances. That had to be scary, just incredibly stressful, to say the least, but it seems he kept his cool. I’m glad they both came out of it okay.”***The East End Food Hub, at the site of the former Homeside Florist on the busy corner of Route 25 and Route 105 in Riverhead, is reopening its doors to the public this weekend for a pop-up fair connecting residents with farmers that offer Community Supported Agriculture subscriptions. The fair begins a series of upcoming public events at the site, including the return of the East End Food Market on March 21.Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the CSA Fair this coming Saturday, March 7, will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the intersection of Route 25 and Route 105 in Riverhead. It’s a chance for “families to meet local farmers offering up shares of seasonal produce, chat with local farmers and find the ...
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