Drunk Driver Strikes 5 Boy Scouts on Long Island: Cops

UPDATE: 12-Year-Old Scout Dies From Injuries After Being Hit by Alleged Drunk Driver

MANORVILLE, NY — A drunk driver plowed his Mercedes into five Boy Scouts in Manorville Sunday, leaving one in critical condition and others injured, police said.

According to Suffolk County Police, Thomas Murphy, 59, of Holbrook, was arrested and charged with DWI after the crash on David Terry Road at 1:55 p.m.

Murphy was driving a 2016 Mercedes southbound when he struck a group of Boys Scouts who were walking northbound on the shoulder of the roadway, police said.

The five Scouts, from Boy Scout Troop 161 of Shoreham, range in age from 12 to 16, police said.

One of the Scouts was transported via Suffolk County Police helicopter to Stony Brook University Hospital and the other four were transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead. One boy, who was initially transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center in critical condition, was ultimately transported via Suffolk County Police aviation to Stony Brook University Hospital.

Murphy will be held overnight at the Seventh Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Monday, police said.

According to Troop 161's website, the Scouts were scheduled to have a two-session hike on the Greenbelt Trail in Manorville and were hiking with their adult leader, as well as other Scouts, at the time of the crash, Scouting officials said. Scoutmaster Matthew Yakaboski and other troop representatives did not immediately return a request for comment. A call to Boy Scouts of America's Suffolk County Council was also not immediately returned.

Detectives are asking anyone who may have witnessed the crash to call the Major Case Unit at 631-852-6555 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220 TIPS.

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