3 Charged After ATV Crashes On LI’s North Shore: Police

RIDGE, NY — Three were charged after all-terrain vehicle crashes on Long Island’s north shore between Ridge and Riverhead on Sunday after a mob of 50 to 100 bikers and ATV riders crowded Sound Avenue in Wading River, police said.

“They were blocking the roadway, preventing motorists from getting by,” said Riverhead Town police Sgt. Jonathan Devereaux, adding that the department “sent numerous vehicles” to try to disperse or detain the crowd.”

But the crowd “dispersed in numerous different locations” throughout Riverhead Town and the county, he said.

Sgt. Devereaux could not say if the crowd of riders were the same that have been spotted in the Mastic-Shirley area nearby. The bikers have previously raised the hackles of area residents concerned about road safety in recent months.

He noted that Suffolk police has the lead on the case.

Officers from Shirley’s 7th Precinct, which borders then jurisdiction of Riverhead, responded to the first crash just before 4 p.m. on Ridge Road in Ridge after a 15-year-old ATV rider was involved in a single-vehicle crash near the intersection of Whiskey Road, police said. The 15-year-old was transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment of “non-life-threatening injuries,” according to police.

The second crash was reported in the area on Rocky Point Road, near Whiskey Road, in Rocky Point just after 4 p.m., when the ATV rider “lost control” and the vehicle “became disabled,” but he was not injured, police said.

Both the 15-year-old, whose name was not released because he is a minor, and Dominic Avarello, 20, of Massapequa, were both charged with reckless driving and they were released on appearance tickets returnable to court at later dates, police said. The 15-year-old must appear in family court, while Avarello is due back in First District Court in Central Islip, according to police.

Riverhead police also charged a man in connection with the ATV rider, but only with operating an ATV on a public roadway, which is a town ordinance, and “numerous” vehicle and traffic violations, Devereax said.

The department is not releasing his name because he is still being processed, he said.

Police impounded both ATVs because it is illegal to operate them on public roads. The vehicles can only be operated in approved areas like tracks or privately-owned land where the operator has the permission of the property owner. The county currently has an ATV task force to address the dangers of illegal riding.