Man Seriously Injured In Head-On Quogue Crash: Police

QUOGUE, NY — A man was charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs after a crash in Quogue Friday that left another driver with serious injuries, police said.

Carmine J. Monteforte III, 40, of Westhampton Beach, was arrested and charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, police said.

According to Quogue Village Police, the crash took place at 2:41 p.m. near the intersection of Montauk Highway and Quogue Street. Upon arrival, officers noticed that the driver of a 2010 Ford F-150 pickup, which had been traveling east, had crossed over the solid double lines of the roadway into the westbound lanes of travel and collided head-on with a 1994 Ford F-250 pickup truck that had been heading west, police said.

The driver of the F-250, a man, 60, from Mastic, suffered serious physical injuries and was transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead by the Westhampton War Memorial Ambulance Corps, police said.

Monteforte, who was not hurt in the crash, was held for arraignment at Quogue Village Justice Court, police said.

The crash took place not from the location, just east of, where five were killed in July in a head-on crash; family members of those lost have been advocating for a traffic study to examine what can be done to mitigate what many believe is a dangerous stretch of roadway.

The driver in the July crash, who also died, was traveling at excessive speed; marijuana was found in his vehicle, police have said.

Kurt Kiess, who lost his son Ryan Kiess, 25 in the July crash, reacted to the news: "I'm appalled that even six months after my son's fatal car crash, no action has been taken by the county or the village to improve the safety in that area. It's outrageous."

Quogue Village Police Chief Christopher Isola said the location was not the same but the one similarity was that both crashes were caused by impaired drivers, and "state lawmakers must act to address the growing problem of drug-impaired drivers on the highways of New York."

Both vehicles were impounded for a safety check and the crash remains under investigation by Quogue Village Police detectives. Anyone with information is asked to call Quogue Village Police detectives at 631-653-4791.