Babylon Park Ranger Hailed As Hero After Hit-And-Run Crash

NORTH BABYLON, NY — A local park ranger was recently honored with Babylon's Heroism Award for assisting a man injured in a hit-and-run crash involving a drunken driver in North Babylon. Kenneth Sellers was on duty driving down Old Deer Park Avenue when he came across the car involved in the head-on collision, which was badly damaged. The car, that was being driven by Dennis Ryan, of Deer Park, was struck by a drunken driver who had swerved into oncoming traffic.

When Sellers found him, Ryan was sitting in the disabled car, injured, and emergency services had not yet arrived. He was stuck in the middle of the road as cars passed by dangerously close. Sellers then stopped his truck in traffic to shield Ryan’s car from the traffic. He also checked on Ryan to assess his injuries and stayed with him until emergency services arrived.

"As I sat there, cars just drove right past me, no one stopped, until [Sellers] pulled up," Ryan said during a ceremony honoring Sellers on the steps of Babylon Town Hall. "On behalf of my family, I would like to sincerely thank you for your kindness in stopping, protecting me and making sure I was alright."

Supervisor Rich Schaffer said he and the rest of the Town Board first learned of the incident when Ryan spoke at a recent Town Board meeting.

"As soon as we heard the story, we knew we wanted to recognize Ken," Schaffer said "He’s been with us for a long time, and this is just the latest example of his commitment to helping people here in the Town of Babylon."

As a result of his actions, Schaffer, Deputy Supervisor Tony Martinez and Councilmen Terence McSweeney and DuWayne Gregory presented Sellers with The Heroism Award, which is the highest honor given by the Town of Babylon. Sellers is the first recipient of this award in 2020.