- RELATED ARTICLES
- > Southampton Town Board Members Propose Solutions To Traffic Gridlock After Major Accidents Oct 23, 2013 11:10 AM
- > Police: SUV Driver Was Using Cellphone During Fatal Crash On County Road 39 Aug 28, 2013 9:37 AM
- > School Bus Involved In A Minor Crash On County Road 39 Aug 27, 2013 12:57 PM
- > Officials Recommend Traffic Light Cameras, Lower Speed Limits To Reduce South Fork Car Crashes Aug 21, 2013 11:27 AM
- > Southampton Village Trustees To Meet With Officials To Discuss Traffic During Emergencies Aug 14, 2013 10:05 AM
more
Jul 26, 2013 9:40 AMSouthampton Town Police identified the driver and attendant of the Hampton Jitney bus involved in a fatal head-on crash with an SUV Thursday morning on County Road 39 in Tuckahoe.
The attendant is Shimona Kameka, 36, of Southampton and the driver is George Scheld, 54, of Nesconset, according to a press release issued Thursday evening. Both were taken to Southampton Hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Police identified the driver of the 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer who died in the collision as 29-year-old Carissa Castillo of Shirley on Thursday afternoon.
Traffic remains congested around the recently reopened County Road 39 where a fatal car crash occurred Thursday morning.
Normal rush hour traffic in the East End was exacerbated because of a collision in Tuckahoe between a Hampton Jitney bus and an SUV at about 7 a.m. Drivers are encouraged to stay off the roads if possible to allow the build up of cars to clear out.
Traffic on the thoroughfare was shutdown complete until about 1 p.m. between Tuckahoe Road and Tuckahoe Lane when a single eastbound lane was opened. All four lanes were gradually opened at about 4 p.m.
A Southampton Town Police dispatcher said one minor accident occurred on St. Andrews Road near the spot of the previous accident, but did not impede traffic.
The dispatcher added that almost all the roads surrounding County Road 39—including Montauk Highway and Sebonac Road where traffic was diverted after Thursday morning's crash—were jammed up with cars.
Southampton Town Director of Public Transportation and Traffic Safety Thomas Neely said he received many phone calls and emails throughout the day from people inquiring about the status of the roads.
Mr. Neely said the road closure, which spanned about nine hours, was necessary so the Suffolk County Medical Examiner could declare the driver of the SUV—29-year-old Carissa Castillo of Shirley—dead at the scene and so authorities could clear the road.
"Unfortunately it's a great inconvenience to a great many people," he said.
Mr. Neely said there was no way of telling when the dense traffic might break, but he expects it to be a gradual process spanning the next few hours.
All four traffic lanes of County Road 39 in Tuckahoe have reopened after a fatal car crash occurred there Thursday morning, according to Southampton Town Police. Residual delays are expected while traffic clears out.
Police have identified the driver of the SUV who died after being involved in a head-on collision with a Hampton Jitney bus Thursday morning on County Road 39 as 29-year-old Carissa Castillo of Shirley.
The mother of two was driving eastbound on the highway at about 7 a.m. when she crossed the double yellow lines and crashed into the westbound bus, Southampton Town Police Detective Sergeant Lisa Costa said.
The bus driver and attendant were taken to Southampton Hospital to be treated for what Sgt. Costa classified as non-life threatening injuries.
Eastbound traffic was opened up at about 1 p.m., Sgt. Costa said, and as of 2:45 p.m. authorities were still trying to clear the road for westbound traffic, which had been rerouted to Sebonac Road. She said the road should be open within the hour.
Eastbound traffic on County Road 39 has partially reopened after a fatal car crash brought traffic to a halt for more than six hours on Thursday.
One lane of traffic was reopened as of 1:30 p.m. and the Southampton Town Police said authorities still are working on opening westbound traffic on the highway but no timetable has been set.
Southampton Town Police Detective Sergeant Lisa Costa confirmed from the scene that one person died in the Thursday morning accident between a Hampton Jitney bus and an SUV.
Marsha Kenny, director of public relations and marketing for the Southampton Hospital, confirmed that two people are being treated for injuries related to the accident.
Southampton Volunteer Ambulance Chief Donna Kreymborg said two individuals were transported to the hospital with minor injuries, one by an ambulance from her agency and one in a Southampton Village Volunteer ambulance.
Aerial footage of the accident shows that the bus involved was a Hampton Ambassador bus, a luxury line operated by the Hampton Jitney.
County Road 39 in Southampton remained closed to traffic in both directions as of 10:30 a.m. Thursday following a fatal accident involving what appears to be a small SUV and a Hampton Jitney bus that occurred at around 7 a.m. this morning in Tuckahoe.
According to a Southampton Volunteer Fire Department official, the small SUV was heading eastbound and veered into the westbound lane and was struck head-on by the Jitney bus, which was heading west. The accident occurred near St. Andrews Road, and the highway remains closed between Tuckahoe Lane and Tuckahoe Road.
The sole occupant of the SUV, a woman, was pronounced dead at the scene and as of this morning was still entrapped in the vehicle, which was nearly unrecognizable, according to the same fire official.
Southampton Town Police would not immediately confirm if the woman died in the crash or how many people were injured in the accident.
Hampton Jitney Vice President Andrew Lynch confirmed Thursday morning that involved bus belongs to his company, but said no passengers were on board at the time of the crash. He said only a driver and attendant were aboard at the time; he did not know the severity of their injuries.
“Our driver and attendant were taken to [Southampton] Hospital and the local authorities are currently investigating,” Mr. Lynch said.
The highway remains closed between Tuckahoe Lane and Tuckahoe Road, creating massive traffic tie-ups in both directions. Eastbound traffic is being rerouted to Montauk Highway while westbound traffic is being directed to Sebonac Road.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
You've read 1 of 7 free articles this month.
Already a subscriber? Sign in
Not a VP at all -- the removal of your "sarcastic response" most have violated 27East's TOS, although it seemed to have been met with approval by those who had the opportunity to read it. But yes, you'd better behave. I've had comments removed in the past, and have managed to figure out what is acceptable here and what isn't.
EH123: yes, it was "speculative," and based solely on the information provided in the initial report.
But it was reasoned speculation -- short ...more of an intentional act by the SUV's driver, there's not too many choices here (four?), and I speculated that it could be of a medical nature.
Sorry that it struck you and others the wrong way, but if you critically assess reader comments on 27East, I think you could safely say that 75% of them "serve no purpose at all."
Thankfully they were no passengers on board the bus.
Or, if things go seriously awry on the road...
With regard to this tragic accident - so sorry for this poor young woman and her family. Our prayers and thoughts are with you.
Regarding the long time for the road to be closed, the fact that one of the vehicles was a commercial bus may may raised the bar on the number of investigating agencies who had to sign off on the road being opened (after all evidence was collected), in addition to the possibility that the coroner coming from the west may have been delayed.
Similar to the bad crash near the Lobster Inn 1-2 years ago IMO.
Oh, and in reply to a comment or two above, ...more in a real catastrophic Island-wide emergency, most people "stuck" on the East End might actually be better off out here IMO. [Forget about "getting off the island" IMO.]
What is a bus doing in the left lane? Ill tell you why...
I paced a Jitney going 73mph in the left lane of sunrise the other night. I can honestly say that their drivers are the most reckless, unprofessional commercial drivers I have ever encountered on the road. They are a close second behind fung wah bus and the meth head sand trucks. I spend about 3hrs a day on the LIE and 27 and obviously the buses are giant billboards. Maybe a bus ...more inspection blitz by the motor carrier/DOT is in order.
Food for thought:
Motor Vehicle Crash Investigation and Reconstruction
John C. Glennon, Jr., BSAT
[ Reprinted from Through the Gears Trucking Magazine, Volume VII, Issue 1, January 2001]
Accident investigation and accident reconstruction are commonly heard terms, but what exactly are they? The following discussion will attempt to shed some light on these processes.
After a motor vehicle accident occurs, particularly one resulting in severe injuries or death, it will usually be investigated and sometimes be reconstructed. There are two primary types of people that perform these duties, the police and independent investigators.
The police will investigate an accident with the intention of determining if any criminal action took place in the accident. Some of the things the police look for are speeding, hours-of-service violations, mechanical violations, alcohol use, drug use, etc. For example, if a truck driver is exceeding his hours of service and causes a serious accident because he fell asleep at the wheel, he will likely be criminally charged. If that accident results in a fatality, the charge will likely be homicide.
Independent investigators are normally hired by the insurance companies or attorneys of the parties involved in an accident. The job of the independent investigator is to analyze the causes of the accident so that liability and/or financial responsibility can be determined. These independent investigators are often off-duty police officers, retired police officers, automotive technologists, or engineers. However, investigators from many other backgrounds are also common.
An accident investigation can consist of many aspects. However, the investigation usually starts with an inspection of the accident site. At the site, measurements are taken of evidence left by the vehicles such as point of impact, final resting positions, skid marks, scrub marks, and gouge marks. These measurements are usually taken using electronic surveying equipment. With this equipment, a computer-generated scale diagram can be produced and may be used to reconstruct the accident.
Vehicle inspections are another typical part of the accident investigation. These inspections will usually include measuring the amount of damage and damage profile of the vehicles. This information will be useful if an accident reconstruction is performed. The mechanical components of the vehicles such as brakes, steering, tires, suspension, lights, etc. may also be inspected and tested to determine if the condition of these components was a causative factor in the accident. The investigation might also include looking at driver qualifications, auditing logbooks, or reviewing other motor carrier compliance related materials.
With the accident investigation complete, an accident reconstruction can be performed. Reconstruction is the process of using physics to determine the speeds of the vehicles, and/or their relative positions at different times during the accident sequence. Information such as pre- and post-impact direction of travel, length of pre-impact skid marks, post-impact distances moved, friction values for the various surfaces the vehicles traveled over, point of impact, impact angles, and weights of the vehicles are all used as inputs into the equations used to reconstruct an accident.
There are many types of accident scenarios such as head-on, rear-end, right-angle, or roll-over. Each of these different scenarios requires a different method to reconstruct. However, generally speaking, an accident reconstruction will determine how much of a vehicle's speed is lost in each part of a collision sequence. Take, for example, a vehicle that skids off the road and strikes a tree. A reconstruction of this accident would use the vehicle's damage profile to calculate the speed at which the vehicle struck the tree and combine that with the amount of speed lost while the vehicle was skidding to determine the pre-braking speed of the vehicle.
A slightly more complex accident reconstruction involves two vehicles first skidding, then colliding with each other, then sliding to a stop. For this type of accident the method used is called the Conservation of Linear Momentum, which takes into account the weights of the vehicles, the angles at which they collided, and the places where they came to rest. To be more specific, take the example of two-vehicle collision where one vehicle is traveling due south the other vehicle is traveling due west. After these two vehicles collide, the rules of physics tell us they will move generally southwest, with all of the southward momentum resulting from the southbound vehicle and all of the westward momentum resulting from the west bound vehicle. If the reconstructionist knows how much each vehicle weighs, how far each vehicle moved south, and how far each vehicle moved west, then he can calculate a collision speed for each of the vehicles. This collision speed for each vehicle can then be combined with its speed loss from pre-collision skidding to calculate its pre-braking speed.
Continuing with this right-angle accident reconstruction, the pre-braking speeds can be used to both look at time-distance relationships before collision and to pose .what-if. questions. For example, if one of the vehicles was found to be speeding before collision, the reconstructionist could pose the question what would have happen had that vehicle not been speeding. By moving that vehicle at its calculated speed back from the initial braking point by say 1.5 seconds for a normal driver perception-reaction time, the reconstructionist can determine a point of perception. Then by asking what if that driver had been traveling at the speed limit, had taken 1.5 seconds to perceive and react, and had locked the brakes, the reconstructionist can determine if the accident could have been avoided if the driver had simply obeyed the speed limit.
The discussion above gives just a brief overview of the processes of accident investigation and accident reconstruction. For a more complete discussion, the reader is referred to www.criterionpress.com, where several good accident investigation and reconstruction publications are offered.
About the Author
John C. Glennon, Jr., is a forensic automotive technologist who performs crash reconstruction and detailed vehicle testing for trucking companies, insurance companies and lawyers involved in investigating and litigating motor vehicle collisions. He has a B.S.A.T. degree in Automotive Technology, he is a triple-certified Master Automotive Technician, and he holds a Class A CDL in the state of Kansas
What do you really expect to happen when two highway lanes of "trade parade" traffic are shuttled to a two lane byway? Take all that volume, and picture shoving it into an hourglass. Or, put a dozen rats in a cage, and don't feed them. What you do is ADAPT. You have a diabetic emergency? Call 911. Don't want to sit in traffic? Westbound traffic was negligible. Have a sick, or vacation day? Turn around and go home, or maybe go see a matinee at the movies. Sometimes **** happens, so you have to get over yourself when there's truly nothing you can do but suffer it, maybe scrap your plans for the day, or trade them for some other routine. This is a unique, and singular environment. It's not someone else's responsibility to keep you informed with modern media and technology as it exists. The information one may need was available via a smartphone, a GPS, keeping a MAP of the area in your vehicle, or a phone call to someone who has access to such information. I hear people cry all the time about how we should not live in a "nanny state", yet, look at some of the responses, and proposed solutions...
I did a search and found that a physician's assistant from the Office of the medical examiner has pronounced death at accident scenes. When I looked at the website of Suffolk County government, I see that all on-or-off-road ...more MVA fatalities *must be reported to* the office of the medical examiner, but i couldnt find anything saying that death needs to be pronounced at the scene by someone from the medical examiners office or by the medical examiner him or herself. I would like to know if it is a countywide requirement that only the medical examiner or a member of the office may pronounce death at a road fatality. Can anyone tell me if this is a requirement? And why would it take so long? Could a police helicopter transport be used to bring an ME office representative to the scene? And what about the family? The young lady was identified earlier today. Was the family notified and then had to wait hours for their loved one to be pronounced and taken from the accident scene? It's all very confusing. Can someone from the police let us know what the protocol is?
If ALL traffic on CR 39 was forced to travel at 35 MPH, and to move in "blocks," most accidents could be prevented, or at least minimized in terms of damage to lives and property.
In the meantime if ALL governmental and commercial vehicles ...more traveled at exactly 35 MPH (including cops), it would help a lot. Ditto for Noyac Road.
Problem isn't the lights, or the road. The problem is the drivers.
I am talking about many more lights, more left signals, fewer left turns without a arrow, and so forth.
CONTROL -- and yes, slower times to get places, but fewer accidents, injuries and deaths.
Is our impatience to get places quickly more important than accidents and deaths like this?
If people just behave within reason and travel at a prudent speed, the road is designed to work and allow for left turns. It's a people problem, not a road problem.
We all need to wake up to the reality that people generally do NOT self-correct when their impatience and adrenaline kick in, especially in the summer out here.
The answer?
CONTROL them!
It certainly is a tradgey one that could be solved if the authorities would all act together to make the train and village taxi vans the sensible answer. That young lady might be alive today if she'd had the alternitive.
The best solution is PREVENTION IMO, but it is not clear that people have the PATIENCE to accept taking more time to get places (see comments above).
If there is one theme which rings clear here, is it not impatience?
PS -- And yes, it may be a good time to move off LI before the big hurricane hits, or there is a major catastrophic event closer to NYC.
With respect to the fallout from the accident - I do find it curious that the Press semeed to be hours late in reporting the closure of the road. I'm sure plenty of people check this website before heading off to work and I didn't see anything until AFTER 9 AM (even though it was being widely reported on radio and tv).
It's not a long ...more red light, so I don't know why people feel they have to beat it. Herd instinct, I guess.
Probably would have made the same time. Volume is volume, and it has to clear. There are only so many linear feet of road...
I don't reserve my criticism just to the police but also include the authorities at all levels that have oversight over them. Sadly, its not the first time that we have found ourselves in this situation. Yet, it seems that no effort has been made since last years problem to work across various entities to work on contingencies as how to unsnarl the roads. Bringing in helicopters instructing which arteries should be opened, doubling up one direction traffic at certain times to unclog the system. All this manpower and all this modern communications technology and one can only come to the conclusions that they just sitting, twiddling a stick about...
I remember a few years ago when there was a fatal accident in Napeauge and it effectively prevented anyone from leaving the Montauk area for hours. That's understandable in that there's only one road - but still a nightmare. What happens if a boat strikes the Mtk Hwy. or Sunrise Hwy bridges and one of those roads needs to be ...more shut down? A contigency plan (put together by ALL east end towns and the various layers of government) should absolutely be put into effect.
You bring up a great point re: fire trucks or ambulances. Police cars at least are smaller in size and could squeeze through some areas, but no way a fire truck or ambulance could have squeezed through most of that mess.
A massive ferry? People driving down the wrong side of the road?
I'd LOVE to hear this "contingency plan"...
Another potential aid would be a rail/shuttle bus system. Provided there's adequate warning of the traffic jam, people could be urged to take the train from HB to SH or BH with shuttle busses taking people from the train stations to the ...more village.
Obviously it will not alleviate a traffic jam - and it's a relatively rare occurrence (once a year?) but that doesn't mean it can't be improved upon. Additionally, if traffic can be eased a bit to make it easier for ambulances/fire trucks to get through, that would be a plus.
Come on Z - you didn't REALLY think I'd have some off-base ideas did you?
News 12 was all over this almost immediately.. And, most of your ideas should simply be common sense. However, how would the shuttle busses get to the station with all that traffic? They don't just sit in a garage out east, do they?
I know it was all over News 12 and other outlets - but not the press which I'm assuming is a source many people view first thing in the morning.
And we both know Common Sense rarely prevails - so someone should put the ideas in writing. ...more
Next time one of these day long traffic backups occurs, drivers should all band together and make multiple calls to all the police and fire departments in ...more the area all.day.long. State, county, town, village. Let them know what it's like to have your entire day turned into a helpless, hopeless situation. Yes, it is very sad that a driver passed away, but it's not the death we are complaining about, it's the blithe disregard for traffic diversion for thousands of people, their employers and their families.
Your more general points are worthy of consideration IMO.
You got some 'splainin to do Lucy
These men and women, regardless of hair color are part of a VOLUNTEER organization that is trying to help out the general public during their time of need. When their alerting devices are activated they respond to yours and anyone's aid NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
Weather or not there are Tax Breaks or Benefits, these men and women all have jobs and families that they leave at the drop of a hat to aid a complete stranger. they are sitting in the same traffic you are ...more trying to get to the aid of someone else. Its easy to sit in traffic and bitch about them but what if the tables were turned and you were the person in need of help. In my experience your complaining about them speeding around and having gray hair turns in to why weren't they here quicker.
Perhaps if that young mother had another way to get to work she would be alive today.
It's a bottleneck. Once you get to the canal nothing can change that via 39, or Montauk Highway as those are the only two ways in or out unless you fly in via helicopter. Everyone going East or West has to pass along either route. An accident on one, or the other means only ONE way to divert traffic through the bottleneck. And frankly those of us who do know how to get around ...more would rather travel such a route unimpeded. No matter what, you have to cross the canal. PERIOD. Most of 27A doesn't connect to 39/27 through Shinnecock Hills except for the Sunrise exit ramps via Old North Road, Hill Station Rd., and Tuckahoe Road, not Lane. All three were USELESS under the day's circumstances, and additionally a massive amount of traffic was diverted down Sebonac Road and if you wanted to use 39 you ended up on Tuckahoe Lane.
What do most of you out there really expect to happen when two highway lanes of "trade parade" and additional traffic are shuttled onto a two lane byway? Take all that volume, and picture shoving it into an hourglass. Or, for good measure, picture putting a dozen rats in a cage, and don't feed them. What you do is ADAPT. You have an emergency? Call 911. Don't want to sit in traffic? Westbound traffic was negligible. Have a sick, or vacation day? Turn around and go home, or maybe go see an afternoon matinee at the Hampton Bays movie theatre. If you just stopped and took in a movie, you would have probably arrived in Southampton Village at about the same time if you chose to sit in the mess.
Sometimes **** happens, so you have to get over yourself when there's truly nothing you can do but choose to suffer it, maybe scrap your plans for the day, or trade them for some other routine. This is a unique, and singular environment. It's not someone else's responsibility to keep you informed with modern media and technology as it exists. The information one may need was available via a smartphone, a GPS, keeping a MAP of the area in your vehicle, or a phone call to someone who has access to such information. I hear people cry all the time about how we should not live in a "nanny state", yet, look at some of the responses, and proposed solutions...
Have a good weekend.
Or are you proposing that we also build a new bridge, and if so where?
What if the two bridges over the canal were both out of service, just for starters?
Do you have a plan for these possibilities, no matter how remote they may be?
Looking at the scene video, the Trailblazer, and the bus have very long skid marks. The rubber from the bus is in the right lane, which would mean the Trailblazer crossed almost two full lanes of traffic.
Somehow, I doubt rumble strips would have made any difference. My best guess for the cause is falling asleep at the wheel.
As you may recall, the idea for a new highway was proposed -- and shot down -- decades ago.
Are you volunteering YOUR house for the first of thousands of Eminent Domain proceedings through VERY expensive housing (used to be farmland and woods), owned by VERY powerful people?
My goodness, just the litigation alone would take years, before the first shovel was in ...more the ground.
Get real . . .
It ain't gonna happen.
Please define your design parameters:
-- LIRR right-of-way -- please state existing width in feet (at its narrowest)
-- NYS Sunrise Hwy. Rte. 27 -- please state width of existing 4-lane roadbed including median -- from outside of emergency pull-over lane on one side to the outside of the similar lane on the other side.
-- Area needed for interchanges over each train station. In your mind, will the entire interchange ...more be elevated over the train station?
[Picture the Hampton Bays 27 interchange, and then elevate that over the Southampton train station. Where would the north and south limits of this be, maybe around CR39 and Hampton Road?]
You do know that the "taking" of the air space above private property would require the process of Eminent Domain, right?
And where are all the construction vehicles going to work?
Etc. etc.
Your ball is a pipe dream.
Can you spell L I R R?
How many more deaths will it take for us to change?
Remember the East End Shuttle experiment a couple of years ago for the trade-parade commute? It was a great success but the public did not clamor loudly ...more enough for a year-round change.
Now may be the time?
http://www.eastendshuttle.org/
Note the map with interconnecting bus lines.
http://www.27east.com/news/article.cfm/Southampton/137577/Shuttle-service-to-continue-through-June
What is the status of this MTA purchase?
http://www.27east.com/%2Fnews%2Farticle.cfm%2FEast-End%2F413391%2FMTA-Will-Buy-Trains-For-East-End-Light-Rail-System
***** Build It And They Will Come! *****
Fiddle Fiddle Fiddle
The bus was in the right lane westbound, and the Trailblazer crossed multiple lanes of traffic.
The information will be public record after insurance investigation, and any litigation is completed. Find the information once it's released, or FOIL it if such a demand exists for it.
B) The reason the road was closed so long was because it involved a fatality
C) What would be your threshold for vehicle accident update reports? Should there be a whole section in the newspaper dedicated to reporting the outcome of any and all vehicle accident investigations?
Either way, those trying to place ANY blame on the bus based on having previously seen them speed is ridiculous.
And Ditto to blank! about linking Jitney speeding (if any) to this accident.
Mr Z. it is open to FOIL once the investigation is done, not after any litigation, which in some cases , could be years.
If you look not only at the road right at the St. Andrews intersection, and the overhead view from the chopper about halfway through when the cameraman zooms quickly in, and out, there are some MAJOR dualie skid marks in the right lane.
It would have been nearly physically impossible for the bus to have made the marks in the right lane, and then switch lanes quickly to ...more the left (going 35-45? MPH). See the sand absorbent starting just to the left of the skid marks?
Two different vehicles IMO, with the liklihood being that another bus or commercial vehicle was in the right lane (was the Jitney passing this vehicle?), and braked hard to avoid the accident. If so, this driver is a witness and hopefully has already made a statement to the police.
Once again, thanks for the observant catch here. Link below and hopefully the editors will permit the link to stay.
I do have to say I like the idea of jersey barriers from Tuckahoe Road, to at least St. Andrews.
Build it and they will come?
Imagine the East End Shuttle scoot trains which could have been busily ferrying stranded motorists east and west all day.
Build it and they will come!
As a member of the "million mile club", I have seen far more stupidity than average. Just dwell on that for a bit...
again im gonna suggest jersey barriers from lobster inn to 7-11 .again another life would have been saved. Also who ever wasted millions on the new 3 lane make over did a lousey planning job it should have been 4 lanes plenty of room for one more lane . why all these vehicles must sit in traffic all day is just stupid
Law enforcement vehicles would be covered, except those responding to an actual emergency with their red/blue rooftop lights activated.
Leadership requires breaking the mold once in a while, and with the November Ejections [sic] ...more coming up, a bold move here would be appreciated.