‘Slow Down’: Huntington Officials Sound Alarm After Deadly LI Work-Zone Crash

HUNTINGTON, NY — Huntington officials, labor leaders and state lawmakers gathered outside Town Hall Thursday to advocate for safety after a construction worker was killed and two others were seriously injured in a Nesconset crash.

A Suffolk County-contracted paving crew was struck at Townline and Terry roads in Nesconset. Suffolk County police said Thomas Lobianco, 26, of Lake Ronkonkoma, was driving a 1999 Toyota Camry eastbound in the westbound lane of Townline Road when he went through a red light, drove onto the sidewalk and hit three workers who were preparing for a paving project.

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Joel Sicon-Porix, 38, of Mastic, died from his injuries, officials said. Kevin Chavez-Sarmiento, 30, of Bay Shore, and Jose Gonzalez-Colindres, 33, of Brentwood, suffered serious injuries, officials said.

Lobianco was charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, police said.

Newsday reported that Lobianco pleaded not guilty and that a Suffolk prosecutor told a judge there was a "high likelihood of upgraded homicide charges."

Newsday also reported prosecutors said Gonzalez-Colindres underwent surgery for a broken leg and Chavez-Sarmiento's leg might need to be amputated.

"It's an exceptionally dangerous job to be out in the roadways, even on the shoulders of the roads, when cars are flying by at high speed," Huntington Supervisor Ed Smyth said.

Officials and workers wore yellow reflective safety vests during the event. Smyth said those vests, along with cones and warning signs placed before work zones, are there for a reason and should signal to drivers that they need to immediately become more cautious.

Huntington Highway Superintendent Andre Sorrentino told those gathered that the danger road crews face is personal for him because he had also been struck by an impaired driver.

"I was doing a routine traffic tow, 6 o'clock at night, and I was run over by a drunk driver," Sorrentino said. "I'm lucky enough to be standing here talking about it. We're sorry we're blocking the road — and we apologize for the inconvenience. But it doesn't give anybody the right to barrel down the road and run somebody over."

Officials said workers installing water mains, repairing sidewalks, painting traffic lines or operating heavy equipment at construction sites next to roadways all face similar dangers.

Heavy machinery also cannot move quickly enough to avoid an oncoming vehicle, officials said, placing responsibility on motorists to recognize the conditions around them and adjust their driving.

Assemblyman Steve Stern said Thursday that crashes caused by reckless or impaired driving should not simply be dismissed as accidents because drivers make conscious decisions before and while operating a vehicle.

"These are not accidents," Stern said. "These are horrific, dangerous choices that are not accidents."

State Sen. Mario Mattera called for action on legislation he referred to as the Deadly Driving Bill, arguing that prosecutors and law enforcement need stronger tools in cases involving drivers accused of being impaired by drugs.

"I don't want anybody to go to jail," Mattera said. "But if you do the crime, you do the time."

Mattera said highway workers receive extensive safety training because they understand the risks they face every time they enter an active roadway. The Nesconset crew, he said, was an example of workers simply reporting for their jobs when their lives were changed.

"He was killed going to work," Mattera said of Sicon-Porix. "Imagine that — going there to work to protect our roads for our families."

Marc Herbst, executive director of the Long Island Contractors Association, said mourning workers after fatal crashes is not enough — and work-zone safety requires action by drivers, government, contractors and workers themselves.

"Those dedicated workers, those union workers that I so proudly work with day in and day out, who do a fabulous job — their lives should not be put on the line," Herbst said. "Most importantly, their families should safely expect that they'll be home."

Officials said Long Island construction workers undergo extensive safety training, but no amount of preparation can eliminate the danger posed by a driver who speeds through a work zone, becomes distracted or operates a vehicle while impaired.

"The big takeaway here is slow down," Smyth said. "Slow down on the road, please."