23-Year-Old Woman Killed in Suffolk County Crash

BAITING HOLLOW, NY- A Baiting Hollow woman died following after an car accident Sunday night in Baiting Hollow during which she hit a Jeep and then a tree, police said.

According to Riverhead Town Police, the accident took place at 9:20 p.m. on Edwards Avenue when 23-year-old Brigit Burgio, who was driving a 2004 Kia Optima north, sideswiped a 2014 Jeep Wrangler parked on the west side of the road.

Burgio's car continued northbound before crashing into a tree on the west side of the road, police said.

The Riverhead Fire Department responded and extricated Burgio from her vehicle, police said. She was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital, where she died from her injuries at about 4 a.m. Monday.

A graduate of Riverhead High School and soccer star, Burgio was a four-year central midfielder, winning all conference honors in 2008 and 2009. She won team MVP in 2009.

She also played for the Sound Beach Tidal Wave, where she helped the team win a Long Island Junior Soccer League Division Championship in 2009, according to her college, Mount Saint Mary, where she majored in psychology.

Hearts were broken after news of her death spread to her college alma mater. "A special life that is now a tremendous loss to the world," said her former coach Frank Martini. "Our college and team was blessed to have Brigit as part of our family. She carried with her all the finest attributes of a student-athlete. On the field there was nothing she couldn't do, great skill, vision, determination and a team player. Brigit understood the responsibility of being a Mount student-athlete and wore that badge with dignity and pride, winning the respect of her teammates and opponents. The numbness we now feel will soon be overshadowed by the memories that reside within our hearts."

He added, "When my mother was alive, she would always say, 'The Lord takes the best people first.' This definitely confirmed that statement."

Photo courtesy of Mount Saint Mary College.