A 90-year-old Jamesport man died after a two-car crash at Rt. 25 and Doctors Path shortly before noon Saturday, when a westbound 1995 Dodge Ram pickup driven by Matthew Romanelli of Greenport, 23, hit the passenger side of a Ford sedan driven by Caroline Ziemacki, 86, of Jamesport, who had been heading eastbound and attempting to turn north onto Doctors Path.

Her front-seat passenger, John Ziemacki, 90, was taken to the Peconic Bay Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Mrs. Ziemacki was flown by helicopter to Stony Brook Hospital and Mr. Romanelli was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center, where he was treated and released.

This was the third fatal crash in the Riverhead area in the past week.

No charges have been filed. Riverhead Town Police were assisted at the scene by the Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps, the Riverhead Fire Department, the Suffo0lk County Police Aviation Unit and the county Medical Examiner’s Office.

Both vehicles were impounded for inspections.

PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | The driver of this Mitsubishi Lancer was not injured in a two-car accident Wednesday afternoon, though the passenger in another vehicle was hospitalized.

A woman was hospitalized Wednesday afternoon after the car driven by a young woman bringing a cupcake to her mother at work was struck by a pickup truck at the intersection of Ostrander Avenue and Northville Turnpike in Riverhead.

The woman was driving a blue Mitsubishi Lancer north on Northville Turnpike about 12:20 p.m. when the vehicle collided with a Mazda B2500 pickup truck traveling south on Ostrander Avenue, police said.

The truck spun and crashed into a stop sign and street sign at the intersection, police said.

The young woman in the Mitsubishi said she was uninjured in the accident, though the vehicle’s hood was crunched in. The male driver of the truck was also not injured, though his female passenger “complained of pain” and was taken by the Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps to Peconic Bay Medical Center, police said.

Police at the scene could not provide details on the woman’s condition.

The driver of the Mitsubishi had been driving to deliver a cupcake to her mother at work when the accident occurred, the driver’s mother said after the crash.

The mother, who later arrived on scene to help clean out the damaged car, said the driver of the truck drove through a stop sign.

She also said the intersection is dangerous.

“They need to put a traffic light there,” she said.

Police briefly diverted traffic away from the scene as clean-up crews removed the damaged vehicles. The road was reopened by 1 p.m.

psquire@timesreview.com

PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | Peconic Bay Medical Center treated 18 victims from the accident on the LIE Wednesday, the hospital’s president said.

A Vermont-trucking company that owns the tractor-trailer involved in Wednesday’s massive pileup on the LIE is telling Suffolk County police investigators the truck was heading to a sand mine on Speonk-Riverhead Road in Speonk, police said.

Representatives with the company, Jewell Transport Inc., of White River Junction, Vt. were not immediately available for comment.

Initial reports had it that the truck was heading to somewhere in Riverhead Town.

A Southampton Town spokeswoman said town officials were not yet made aware of where the truck — reportedly carrying a load of Hurricane Sandy debris out of Nasssau County —  was heading to, if it was indeed heading to the town.

A DEC spokeswoman said the agency is looking into the matter.

The 35-vehicle crash Wednesday claimed the life of a 68-year-old Blue Point woman, identified as Christa Zepf, and injured 33 others, including 57-year-old Robert Murphy of Lloyd Harbor who was seriously injured, police said.

The LIE’s eastbound lanes were  closed to traffic overnight between exits 66 and 69, but had reportedly reopened by 7 a.m.

Both sides of the highway were shut down in the hours after the crash.

Sixteen victims, including adults and children who were in car seats at the time of the accident, were treated for non life-threatening injuries after the pileup at Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead.

The rest went to hospitals in Stony Brook, Port Jefferson and East Patchogue, police said.

Two other victims were being evaluated for more serious injuries, he said Wednesday.

The crash happened just west of west of the William Floyd Parkway in Shirley about 2:40 p.m. where the driver of the Jewell Transport-owned tractor-trailer, Raymond Simoneau, 42, of Rockingham, Vt., struck a number of cars, police said.

Newsday reported the truck was heading to a site in Riverhead with Hurricane Sandy debris out of East Meadow.

Neither county nor town officials could confirm Thursday where in town, exactly, the debris was heading.

“Following the initial collision, a chain-reaction crash occurred,” Suffolk police said in a release. “The tractor-trailer, which was carrying storm debris, and two additional vehicles caught fire and were extinguished by fire department personnel.”

Wading River Fire Department sent an ambulance to the scene of the crash to assist, first assistant fire chief Jim Evans said. Riverhead fire officials said they were not called to the accident. In all, five fire departments and EMS workers from 19 ambulance districts responded to the scene.

Click here for a Newsday video and coverage from the scene.

Michael White and Tim Gannon contributed reporting for this story.

psquire@timesreview.com

A Florida man was arrested Saturday after he crashed his car up against the foundation of the Southold Fish Market, Southold Town Police said.

Michael Zervos, 46, of Holiday, Fla. was driving his 2006 Toyota eastbound on Main Road in Greenport when he failed to negotiate a curb, struck a road sign and utility pole, continued a short distance into a guard rail, and was spun around into a westbound direction and struck the building, police said.

He was arrested for driving while intoxicated and taken to Eastern Long Island Hospital for medical evaluation. After being discharged from the hospital, he was transported to Southold Police Headquarters, where he was held for a Sunday morning arraignment, police said.

Main Road was closed for several hours as workers repaired the utility pole, police said.

A Southold man was arrested for driving while intoxicated Wednesday night after being involved in a crash, Southold Town police said.

Daniel Jerome, 49, failed to yield the right of way to another vehicle on Main Road in Southold, causing the 9 p.m. crash, police said.

Further investigation revealed Mr. Jerome was intoxicated and he was arrested for DWI and issued other traffic violations, police said.

Nobody was injured in the incident, according to the report.

CARRIE MILLER PHOTO | A Mattituck firefighter at the scene of Tuesday’s crash in Laurel.

Update: The driver of a green Dodge van that crashed into a garbage truck on Main Road in Laurel Tuesday afternoon has been arrested for drunken driving, Southold Town police said.

Tomasz Myskow, 67, of Riverhead was charged with driving while intoxicated and aggravated unlicensed driving, according to a police report. Police said they found Mr. Myskow intoxicated during the investigation at the scene of Tuesday’s crash.

He was treated at Eastern Long Island Hospital, released, and taken to Southold Town Police headquarters to be processed. He was held for morning arraignment, police said.

Original story: Three men were hospitalized Tuesday after a North Fork Sanitation truck collided with a Dodge van in Laurel, authorities said.

A passenger in the Dodge, later identified by police as 61-year-old Mastic resident Joseph Spagnoletto, was airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center with serious leg injuries, said Mattituck Fire Department Chief Erick Haas.

Cutchogue and Mattituck fire departments responded to the scene as traffic on Main Road was shut down for a short time in both directions from Bray Avenue to Laurel Lane.

The driver of the garbage truck told a reporter he was uninjured but declined to comment further.

He was later transported by ambulance to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead. The driver of the Dodge was transported to Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport.

A livery van driver fell asleep at the wheel Sunday morning and crashed into two light poles along Route 25 in Mattituck, Southold Town Police said.

The driver, Katherine Lobbe, 53, of Kings Park was transported to Eastern Long Island Hospital by the Mattituck Fire Department, where she is being treated for minor injuries, according to police.

The crash, which occurred just after 5 a.m. at the New Suffolk Ave. intersection, caused a brief power outage int the area after one of the utility poles snapped in half, police said.

A passenger in the van, Georgia Panagopoulas, 51, of East Marion was not injured in the accident. No charges were filed in the incident, police said.

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story said the accident occurred Monday due to an error in a police press release.

PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | A Jamesport firefighters spreads absorbent material to soak up vehicle fluid at the scene of a two-vehicle crash Monday afternoon.

Two women were hospitalized with minor injuries after a two-car crash on Main Road in downtown Jamesport Monday afternoon, police said.

According to witnesses at the scene, a husband and wife were traveling west on Main Road in a Jeep Grand Cherokee about 2 p.m. when a Honda Civic pulled out of a nearby deli parking lot and sideswiped the Jeep.

Riverhead ambulance volunteers and Jamesport firefighters were called to the scene to treat the victims and clean up the shattered glass and vehicle fluid in the road.

The Civic’s driver and the wife in the Jeep were taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment. Police at the scene said they were not seriously hurt.

Police said the accident was still under investigation, but no tickets or citations were issued. Main Road was closed in both directions between South Jamesport Avenue and Circle Drive while firefighters cleaned up the scene. By 2:30 p.m., the road was reopened.

psquire@timesreview.com

CARRIE MILLER PHOTO | An SUV was struck by an eastbound LIRR train in Mattituck Wednesday. The driver was not seriously injured.

The driver of an SUV struck by an eastbound LIRR train in Mattituck Wednesday walked away with minor injuries, Southold Police on the scene said.

Juan Pablo Ramirez Lazaro, 25, of Mattituck attempted to drive around the crossing gate at Elijahs Lane heading south shortly before noon when a train struck the passenger side of his Nissan Frontier and flipped it on its side, police said.

“All he got was a scratch on his head,” said Southold Police Sergeant Thomas Hudock. “He’s very lucky.”

Mr. Lazaro was taken to Eastern Long Island Hospital by Mattituck Ambulance, police said. Train #202 left Penn Station at 9:45 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive in Greenport at 12:07 p.m. It was unclear how fast the train was traveling when it struck the vehicle at 11:55 a.m.

Police said Mr. Lazaro was safely out of the car when first responders arrived. MTA police said the engineer confirmed the gates were down.

The train began moving again shortly before 2 p.m. delivering the only passenger on board safely to the Greenport station.

“It was a smooth happening,” said passenger Thomas Shedrick of Greenport, who was delayed about two hours. “No real jolts or anything like that. It was a quiet collision.

“It’s wonderful that the gentleman wasn’t hurt.”

A downed wire, which connects to the crossing gate, was still live for about an hour after the crash, which officials said was creating a hazard at the scene.

Elijahs Lane remained closed between Route 48 and Gabriella Court while Southold Town and MTA police continued to investigate. No charges had been filed as of 3:30 p.m., officials said.

“There will be a full investigation,” said MTA spokesman Salvatore Arena. “They have to come to some conclusion as to what happened.”

cmiller@timesreview.com

GOOGLE MAPS | Monday’s fatal crash reportedly happened just south of the Southern State Parkway.

A 50-year-old Aquebogue man was behind the wheel of a pickup truck that crashed into a disabled vehicle and fatally struck two men along the Meadowbrook Parkway in Nassau County Monday, state police said.

Robert Beodeker, who is active in the performing arts community on the North Fork, is facing reckless driving and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle charges, police said, and additional charges are pending.

According to police, Mr. Beodeker was heading south on the Meadowbrook about 12:40 p.m. in Roosevelt when he struck a disabled Nissan Maxima and two pedestrians that were tending to the sedan. The pedestrians, John Elder, 76, of Freeport and Edward Ross, 65, of North Bellmore died at the scene.

The victims were both in the Nissan before it broke down. They had stopped the car in the parkway’s hazard markings, police said.

State police told Newsday.com the car was pulled over on the right shoulder near where three southbound lanes merge to two.

Mr. Beodeker, who was driving a GMC pickup truck, “either didn’t observe or failed to see that the lanes were merging, and he struck the vehicle that was broken down and was being worked on by the two individuals that were killed,” a state police investigator told Newsday.

An accident investigation closed the Meadowbrook’s southbound lanes for some six hours, police said.

Mr. Beodeker was charged with reckless driving and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in Nassau County criminal court, officials said. He told the court that he had taken Ambien and depression medication before the crash, according to a News12 report.

He pleaded not guilty and was released after posting $1,000 cash bail, court officials said.

Mr. Beodeker is an associate dean for student services at Suffolk County Community College.

“We would like to express our sadness at hearing about the loss of life that resulted from the accident,” the school said in a statement. ” While not officially contacted, we understand through news reports that the individual involved is one of our employees. As this is an ongoing police investigation, the College will wait until it can review the outcome of that investigation.” Mr. Beodeker also teaches at Columbia University.

He serves as president of the North Fork Community Theatre group in Mattituck. He’s also been involved with the Riverhead Faculty and Community Theatre group, which traditionally puts on a fall show at the high school.

Mr. Beodeker will next appear in court on Thursday, court officials said.

mwhite@timesreview.com

A Southold woman who swerved off the roadway and struck a mailbox and tree in Greenport Monday afternoon had to be airlifted to the hospital, Southold Town police said.

Sindi Gaticia-Melgar, 23, was driving a 2004 Mazda 6 southbound along Westwood Lane in Greenport shortly after 3:30 p.m., when she lost control of the vehicle, police said.

She was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital by a Suffolk County police helicopter after being treated at the scene by the Greenport Fire Department, police said.

Police are investigating threatening phone calls made against an Aquebogue man charged with reckless driving after a Nassau County car accident that killed two people last week, authorities said.

Officials from Suffolk County Community College’s eastern campus contacted Southampton Town police Thursday about a voice mail regarding the college’s dean of student services, Robert Beodeker, who was involved in the fatal Nassau crash.

According to a police report, one of the school’s secretaries reported a message in which threats were made against Mr. Beodeker and his family.

Mr. Beodeker, who is active in the theater community in Riverhead and Southold towns, was driving a GMC pickup truck when he collided with a disabled vehicle on the side of the Meadowbrook Parkway last Monday, state police said.

The vehicle struck and killed two men who were working on the car, John Elder, 76, of Freeport and 65-year-old Edward Ross of North Bellmore, state police said.

Mr. Beodeker was charged with reckless driving and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in Nassau County criminal court last week, court officials said. He told the court that he had taken Ambien and depression medication before the crash, according to a News12 report.

He pleaded not guilty and was released after posting $1,000 cash bail, court officials said. Mr. Beodeker, who is representing himself in the proceedings, is due back in court April 12, according to online court records.

In the meantime, he has stepped down as president of the North Fork Community Theatre in Mattituck, theater officials said. Several calls to Mr. Beodeker seeking comment were not returned.

A Southampton police detective is investigating the threats, according to the police report.

psquire@timesreview.com

An East Marion couple was treated at Eastern Long Island Hospital Wednesday after a single-car crash on County Road 48, S0uthold Town Police said in a press release issued Friday morning.

Driver Virginia Schoen, 67, and passenger Luther Schoen, 71, were driving along County Road 48 when their vehicle left the roadway and struck a utility pole shortly before 4 p.m., police said.

No further details were given.

GRANT PARPAN PHOTO | Cutchogue Fire Department volunteers rush a motorcycle crash victim to a Suffolk County police helicopter Sunday.

A man was airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center Sunday after he lost control of his motorcycle while driving in Cutchogue, fire officials said.

The unidentified motorcyclist was heading eastbound on Route 48 at around 12:30 p.m. near Sang Lee Farms when he lost control and crashed, officials said.

Another vehicle was involved in the accident, officials said, but it wasn’t immediately clear how.

The Cutchogue Fire Department and Suffolk County Police Aviation Unit responded to the accident.

No further details about the incident or the victim’s injuries were immediately available. Check back later for more information.

gparpan@timesreview.com

A 49-year-old South Jamesport man was arrested on a misdemeanor driving while intoxicated charge after a car crash Tuesday night in Southold, police said.

John Nordin was arrested about 9:45 p.m. after the accident on Main Road, Southold police said.

Information on the car crash was not immediately available.

GOOGLE MAPS

PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | Southold police are investigating the scene of a crash on Main Road in Cutchogue.

A 79-year-old man was rushed to Peconic Bay Medical Center Tuesday evening after he was struck by a vehicle on Main Road in Cutchogue.

Domenick Manzolillo is in serious condition after the accident, which occurred outside Our Lady of Mercy school shortly after 5 p.m.. He was struck by a silver Subaru Baja pickup truck headed west on Main Road, said Southold Town police Sgt. Ted Beebe.

A police helicopter was initially called to the scene to airlift Mr. Manzolillo to the hospital, but was sent back due to concerns over rain. Instead he was rushed to the hospital via ambulance, fire officials said.

The Subaru was being driven by Mimi M. Christy, 48, of Westhampton Beach, police said. She was not charged in the incident.

Mr. Manzolillo is a resident of St. Augustine, Fla., according to police, though records show he has also lived in Cutchogue.

Fire officials at the scene said Main Road was closed between New Suffolk Road and Case’s Lane while the accident investigation was underway. Depot Lane was also closed between Route 48 and Main Road in Cutchogue. By 6:45 p.m., the scene was cleared and the roads were reopened.

psquire@timesreview.com

GRANT PARPAN PHOTO | Two passengers were sent to the hospital following this single-car crash in Mattituck Monday evening.

Three different single-car crashes were reported over the course of three hours in Southold Town Monday evening — the first in Cutchogue, followed by one in Mattituck and another in Greenport.

The Cutchogue accident occurred after a 53-year-old Peconic man had an undisclosed medical condition while behind the wheel and struck a parked vehicle on Main Road near New Suffolk Road shortly after 4 p.m., according to a Southold Town Police press release. He was transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center by a Cutchogue Fire Department ambulance, police said.

A little more than two hours later, a pair of male passengers involved in a single-car wreck on Sound Avenue in Mattituck were also taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center, police said.

The driver in that crash told police he was heading westbound in his four-door Subaru around 6:30 p.m. when he drove through a puddle and hydroplaned off the roadway, an officer said. He struck a pole and drove through a fence, before finally coming to a stop on the Harbes Farm property south of Sound Avenue, police said. The driver, who police said was speeding, refused medical attention. No arrests are expected, police said.

One of the two passengers was stuck in the back seat of the vehicle for about 30 minutes, as fire officials worked to open the badly damaged passenger side door and carry him to a stretcher. The passengers were transported to the hospital by a pair of Mattituck Fire Department ambulances.

LIPA officials were on the scene to repair a damaged pole but no outages were reported.

The third accident occurred around 7 p.m. in Greenport, when a Southold woman struck a pole at the intersection of Route 25 and Bailey Avenue.

According to a Southold Town Police press release, Sara Leone, 25, was driving westbound when her blue 2009 Ford hit a utility pole. The Greenport Fire Department responded to the accident and took Ms. Leone to Moores Lane, where she was airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center and treated for her injuries, police said.

gparpan@timesreview.com

With the Strawberry Festival this past weekend and a series of afternoon thunderstorms that drenched our area, it seems like summer is in full swing on the North Fork.

With summer, more vehicles flood our roads as residents and tourists alike travel to the beach or into town to enjoy the sunny weather or relax at a local winery. And, like clockwork, the number of serious car accidents increases. This year is no exception, and we’ve already seen too many.

First came tragedy when a 79-year-old man was struck in the crosswalk near Our Lady of Mercy school in Cutchogue last Tuesday and later died of his injuries. Police said the driver of the truck that hit him drove around two other vehicles that had stopped to let him cross. She struck the victim as she drove down the shoulder of the road.

On Friday, a similar tragedy was narrowly averted when a 4-year-old boy riding a bike in Mattituck was hit by an SUV. Thankfully, the child was wearing a helmet, and he was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital only as a precaution.

Then on Monday, a driver speeding on Sound Avenue hit a puddle and swerved off the road, striking a utility pole. He and his passenger escaped the crash unharmed.

Hours later, a young woman struck a pole in Greenport and had to be airlifted to the hospital.

All too often at this time of year, we hear about serious car crashes in our hamlets. Some accidents over the past two weeks were just that: unavoidable accidents.

But others were avoidable and, as students across the North Fork get out of school for the summer, it’s even more important that we take extra care on the road.

Reckless driving shouldn’t become the norm for our area.

The seconds you shave off your trip by speeding down Sound Avenue, cutting around cars on Main Road or driving through crosswalks aren’t worth the danger in which you put yourself — and others.

Summertime traffic has become a part of life on the North Fork, but the rise in dangerous accidents we’ve seen so far this season shouldn’t become the status quo.

A West Islip woman was arrested on Route 48 in Cutchogue after she fled the scene of a crash in Riverhead Town early Sunday morning, Southold Town Police said.

Melissa Malkush, 29, was driving drunk when she hit a utility pole in Riverhead and fled the scene, police said.

She was charged with misdemeanor DWI and held overnight for a Sunday morning arraignment, police said.

JERRY DONAHUE COURTESY PHOTO | Monday’s nights crash scene on Main Road in Aquebogue.

A 34-year-old Southold man was arrested for driving while intoxicated after crashing a work truck into a telephone pole in Aquebogue Monday night, police said.

Mario Chacon was traveling eastbound on Main Road, just west of Edgar Avenue, when he crashed into the telephone pole, breaking it in two, police said.

No injuries were reported.

Mr. Chacon was charged with DWI and arraigned Tuesday morning in Justice Court.