Wrong-way crash on Long Island kills 2 drivers
BROOKHAVEN, N.Y. -- Police say two people have died and a third has been critically injured in a wrong-way crash on Long Island.
It happened around 4 a.m. Sunday in Brookhaven.
Suffolk County police say 23-year-old Kevin Melgar, of Brentwood, was driving a sedan eastbound in the westbound lanes of Sunrise Highway when he crashed into a van.
Police say Melgar and the van’s driver, Ozcan Ayyidiz, were killed. A passenger in the van was critically wounded.
A Suffolk County police officer was also injured at the crash scene after a street sweeper careened through a road barrier and crashed into the back of his police car. The officer was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Police say the driver of the street sweeper fell asleep at the wheel. He was issued several traffic citations.
Jonathan Valladares, 25, who was Melgar’s cousin and a passenger in the Infiniti, was taken to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center in Patchogue in critical condition, CBS New York reported.
Melgar worked as a driver in for his father’s commercial trucking business. He died driving his personal car.
“I was crying the whole day; mourning with my family,” said the victim’s brother, Justin Melgar. “It’s his birthday, like, we didn’t want this to happen on his birthday.”
Melgar and Valladares were celebrating Melgar’s birthday when their car crashed into Ayyidiz’s van. Police said Ayyidiz was in the correct lanes and likely had little to no reaction time.
CBS New York reported that Ayyidiz was a Turkish immigrant who was living the American dream. Friends and family members gathered at his home in Mastic Beach, all completely in shock.
A family friend said when Ayyidiz was killed, he was driving to work to his job. He operated a wholesale flower business.
“Wherever he went, he took flowers with him – to his neighbors, to his friends, to strangers. He always brought flowers for his wife,” the woman said.
He was married with three daughters and the owner of a wholesale flower business.
Ayyidiz and his wife had three daughters. Neighbors in Mastic Beach remembered him as kind and generous.
“At the end of the day, he would bring us flowers,” said Rose Siragusa. “I’m numb right now, because I can’t believe it’s him.”
In the hospital, Valladares was yet unable late Sunday to talk to investigators about why Melgar’s car was going the wrong way.
