Diana Rocco has the latest on Sunday's crash on the LIE that left five people dead.
Diana Rocco
Updated 2 hrs 34 mins ago
SHIRLEY, Long Island (WABC) -- Police are investigating whether speed was a factor in a multi-vehicle crash on a major Long Island roadway that killed five people including a former aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The violent crash on the westbound Long Island Expressway Sunday morning also killed an 81-year-old man and a family of three from Hempstead.
The family of three is a very large, tight-knit family, and have about 60 cousins who all live nearby. The family gathered Sunday night still in shock, saying they feel like it's a nightmare they can't wake up from.
"They all live together - they live in one house, so one day the whole household disappears," said the victims' cousin, Liliana Hart.
Hart says her cousins were inseparable, and were always the life of the party. They were all killed in the horrific crash while heading to a water park to celebrate 10-year-old Christopher Pinales' birthday. Just minutes from their destination, they were killed.
Investigators say Carmelo was driving eastbound when he apparently lost control of the vehicle, which crossed over the grassy median, hit a ditch in the grass, then went airborne and struck two vehicles heading right at them. Two others were also in Pinales' car, including Patricia's 3-year-old daughter. The other passengers were injured, and are expected to be okay.
Also killed in the crash was Scott Martella, a Communications Director at the Office of Suffolk County Executive Steven Bellone. He also worked previously for Governor Andrew Cuomo's office.
Martella's fiancee, 29-year-old Shelbi Thurau was transported to a local hospital where she is being treated for non-life threatening injuries.
"Scott dedicated his all too brief life to public service and to helping others," Bellone said in a statement. "He is known across Long Island as a leader and a great man."
Cuomo, a Democrat, said Martella served in his administration for more than four years.
"Scott was always full of big ideas to help solve the toughest challenges of the day, and he was deeply respected for his strong work ethic, candor and fighting spirit," Cuomo said in a statement. "Long Island is a better place today because of his service and dedication to the community."
A passenger in the BMW, Isidore Adelson, 81, of Westhampton, was taken to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries late Sunday. Three others in the BMW, including Adelson's wife, were injured.
Relatives of the Pinales' family say they believe an earlier accident left an oil spill, which contributed to the crash.
they are playing Russian roulette every time they are in a car.
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LIE crash in Manorville results in 5 killed, 6 hurt, cops say
Updated August 22, 2016 7:05 AM
By Newsday Staff
Five people were killed and six injured after a multivehicle crash on the Long Island Expressway in Manorville, Suffolk County police said. The crash, which happened about 9:35 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 21, 2016, forced the temporary closure of the LIE at eastbound Exit 68 and westbound Exit 69. (Credit: James Carbone, News 12 Long Island)
This story was reported by Lisa Irizarry, Ted Phillips, Laura Figueroa, John Asbury and Nicole Fuller. It was written by Fuller
HIGHLIGHTS
Eastbound driver killed after crossing into oncoming traffic
Investigators looking at speed as a possible factor in crash
A Suffolk County political aide, a pair of siblings from Nassau County, an 81-year-old man and a 10-year-old boy were killed and six people injured Sunday after an out-of-control car careened across the LIE’s grassy median near Manorville, went airborne, slammed into westbound traffic and broke into pieces, Suffolk police said.
Killed in the three-vehicle crash between exits 68 and 69 were Scott Martella, 29, of Northport, who was County Executive Steve Bellone’s communications director; Carmelo Pinales, 26, of Hicksville; and his sister, Patricia Pinales, 27, of Westbury, police said. Carmelo Pinales’ son, Christopher, died hours later at Stony Brook University Hospital, police said. And Isidore Adelson, 81, of Westhampton, perished Sunday night.
Carmelo Pinales worked in the food services industry and Patricia Pinales was a medical assistant, a friend said.
Martella and the Pinales siblings were pronounced dead at the scene by a physician assistant from the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner, police said.
Winnifer Garcia, 21, of Hempstead and Patricia Pinales’ 3-year-old daughter, also of Westbury, were transported to hospitals, where they were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Carmelo Pinales was speeding and was driving a gray Subaru Outback east on the LIE when he apparently lost control of the vehicle, police said. The Outback crossed over the grassy median, went airborne and struck two vehicles — a BMW and a Honda — that were traveling west near Exit 68 about 9:35 a.m.
Martella was driving the 2014 Honda with his fiancee, Shelbi Thurau, 29, of Northport, as a passenger. After the collision, she was transported to a hospital, where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Marvin Tenzer, 73, the driver of the 2016 BMW, and his three passengers — Sandra Tenzer, 69, Isidore Adelson, and his wife, Helen Adelson, all of Westhampton — were transported to hospitals. Helen Adelson was listed in critical condition, but the Tenzers were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.
Authorities closed the LIE in both directions after the 9:35 a.m. crash; the highway reopened about 6 p.m. Traffic was diverted onto surface streets and to Sunrise Highway, authorities said, causing major traffic jams on what would already be a busy time with hordes traveling to and from beaches and other activities on the East End.
Suffolk Police Chief of Detectives Gerard Gigante, speaking at a news briefing near the scene of the crash, said debris from the collisions hit a fourth vehicle, resulting in minor damage.
“It looks like the Outback went airborne, hit the top of the Honda — the Honda doesn’t have front-end damage, but has significant roof damage,” Gigante said. “And it appears the BMW and the Outback collided. The engine of the Outback was thrown several hundred feet into the woods. The car is pretty much destroyed. It’s broken up into numerous pieces.”
Investigators are still working to determine why Pinales lost control, but Gigante said “we’re looking into the fact that we believe speed might have been a factor.”
Several of the victims were ejected from the vehicles and investigators also want to determine whether they were wearing seat belts, he said.
Brian Luque said he and 12 of his cousins, including the Pinales, were going to the Splish Splash water park in Riverhead in several cars. He was traveling far behind the Pinales siblings and didn’t see the crash, he said while waiting with family at the Stony Brook hospital where the injured children had been taken.
Federico Pinales, an uncle of Carmelo and Patricia, speaking from the hospital where the family had congregated, said Patricia’s daughter was to undergo a second round of surgery on her injured leg on Monday.
Firefighters and Suffolk police officers walked the section of the closed roadway throughout the afternoon as the crash investigation continued.
Nearby, the remains of two severely damaged vehicles rested on the right shoulder of the westbound LIE while a third vehicle — also with heavy damage — sat sideways at the center divider. All three vehicles have been impounded for safety checks, police said.
Chunks of debris from the crash were spread out across the LIE’s westbound lanes.
“I’ve been with the department 22 years; this is one of the worst accidents I’ve ever seen,” said Manorville Fire Department Chief Sal D’Amato, who was among the first wave of first responders on the scene. “I’ve never seen nothing like this. There was just a massive amount of metal all over the place.”