Manslaughter Charges After Fatal Crash Near LIE: Police

UPDATE: Major Case Unit detectives have additionally charged Robert Hengeveld, 50, of Blue Point, with second-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of Starlin Diaz Felipe, 19, of Medford, police said Thursday.

Hengeveld's passenger, who was ejected from the Toyota he was driving, has been identified by police as Tariasha Smith, 25, of West Babylon. She is in "serious condition" at Stony Brook University Hospital, police said.

Both Hengeveld and Smith were arrested over the summer after another crash in which they fled a officer in a traffic stop, police said. They were stopped after allegedly swiping pocketbooks from various supermarkets across the south shore, according to police.

HOLTSVILLE, NY — A Long Island man who is in custody after fleeing a traffic stop and then crashing the car he was driving into another car, killing a man and seriously injuring a woman, police said.

Officers in a marked police vehicle had tried to stop a Toyota Tacoma, which had stolen license plates, as it was being driven by Robert Hengeveld at Long Island Avenue and Gazebo Lane in Holtsville at about 11:30 p.m., but he drove away, police said.

The officers activated their "lights and sirens" while pursuing the car southbound on North Ocean Avenue before it struck a Honda traveling eastbound on Express Drive South, a police spokesman said.

The Honda’s driver, Starlin Diaz Felipe, 19, of Medford, was killed, and a "female passenger," who was riding in the Toyota, was ejected from the vehicle, police said. The passenger, whose name has not been released, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital.

A police spokeswoman said investigators are not identifying the female passenger at this time.

Hengeveld, 50, of Blue Point tried to run away from the officers, but he was taken into custody “almost immediately.” He was also transported to Stony Brook “with injuries that are not life-threatening,” police said.

He was charged with reckless driving, first-degree unlawfully fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, and fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. There were multiple bench warrants for his arrest, police said.

In July, Hengeveld and Tariasha Smith, 25, of West Babylon allegedly swiped pocketbooks from various supermarkets on the south shore, then fled a traffic stop and were involved in a car crash in Medford, police said.

After partnering up on a grab at ShopRite in Patchogue, they were pulled over by an officer, but sped away and the car they were in struck a tree in Medford, police said.

They are accused of swiping bags from stores not only in Patchogue, but also Holbrook, Lake Ronkonkoma, Bohemia, and Oakdale.

The investigation is continuing with Major Case Unit detectives. Anyone with information can call detectives at 631-852-6553, or anonymously to Crime Stoppers, a confidential police hotline, at 1-800-220-TIPS.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.