Father Who Lost Son In Quogue Crash That Killed 5 Seeks Change

QUOGUE, NY — The trees around Kurt and Nina Kiess' Remsenburg home were ablaze with white lights this Christmas — a sight that would have filled their son Ryan with delight. But Ryan's seat at the family table was empty this year, his laughter echoing in the minds and hearts of the many shattered by his loss.

Ryan, 25, along with James Farrell, 25, Michael Farrell, 20, and and Uber driver Farhan Zahid, 32, died in a high-speed, head-on crash on Montauk Highway in July, police said. Ryan's girlfriend Brianna Maglio was critically injured in the crash, police said. The driver who crashed into the Uber head-on, Justin Mendez, 25, also died in the crash, police said.

According to Quogue Village Police, the crash took place at 11:19 p.m. on July 24 near the intersection of Montauk Highway and Quogue Street (East). A red Nissan Maxima, driven by Mendez, who was alone in the vehicle, was heading west on Montauk Highway when it left its lane of travel and crashed head-on with the Prius with Uber driver Zahid and his four passengers that was traveling east on Montauk Highway, police said.

Now, Kiess is left with just memories of his son — and has vowed to fight moving forward so that no other family ever has to endure the same agony. In past months, he and the Farrells have called for safety improvements on the roadway where the young men lost their lives.

And, Kiess said, he has begun advocating for new legislation that would bring some equity to grieving families who have lost loved ones in wrongful death cases. He is meeting with lawmakers and other families, including the McMorris family of Wading River, who lost their son Andrew, a Boy Scout who was killed by a drunk driver while out on a hike — to pass the Grieving Families Act in the New York State Senate and Assembly.

According to the the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, the Grieving Families Act will align New York with 41 other states so that those who lost loved ones to untimely, wrongful death can recover monetary damages. Currently in New York, families can receive damages and compensation commensurate with what the deceased would have earned, had they lived — but there is no recourse for families that have lost a child or an elderly relative, or if the deceased was a low-wage earner.

"New York’s Civil War-era wrongful death law denies any recovery for the emotional loss close surviving family members experience when a loved one is tragically killed," the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers said. "This antiquated law significantly disadvantages low-wage earners, people of color, children and the elderly."

Kiess said he has met with New York State Senator Anthony Palumbo and others to work toward changing the legislation. "New York is one of only eight states that have this antiquated type of law," he said.

"Losing a child is the worst thing anyone can imagine — there is no word for it — you are just forever broken," said Alisa McMorris, whose son Andrew was only 12 when the drunk driver plowed into his troop. "John and I do not want any family to endure this type of loss."

That is why, she said, they support recent national legislation in support of technology in vehicles to stop drunk and impaired drivers. "But the pain continues — the holidays tear open wounds that burn deep into our souls. Then, to hear your child has no worth in New York State —it scorches you," McMorris said. "Our laws need to change — we need to make equity part of the discussion."

She added: "It shouldn't matter your age, ethnicity, or where you worked. Andrew's life on this earth was taken too soon by someone's careless actions. How can you possibly tell me his death is worth any less than anyone else's?"

Last week, just days before Christmas, Kiess said he was called in for a deposition and asked what his economic reliance was, on his son.

His voice choked with tears, Kiess responded: "I said I wanted Ryan to buy me a Father's Day dinner."

The days since losing his son have been long. Christmas, Kiess said, "was terrible." His son epitomized the magic of the season, Kiess said. "Ryan loved Christmas. Ryan was Christmas. He was a celebrator."

That's why, Kiess said, he decorated the family's Remsenburg home with so many lights, in honor of his only son.

Remembering Ryan, Kiess said a few nights ago, one of his son's friends dropped off a note, explaining that while Ryan was one of the "cool kids, a jock, a big man on campus," he always went out of his way to include the young man in his group. "I called Ryan an 'includer,'" Kiess said. "We should all want to raise our children as includers. We're proud of him. He was that kind of guy."

His son knew that the beauty of the season was in giving, not receiving, gifts, Kiess said. "You take the time to think about what someone else wants — that's the magic of Christmas," he said.

Soon Kiess, along with family, will journey to the vacation spot where his son and Brianna took their last trip together in June. "We'll be walking in their footsteps," he said. "We're doing this one day at a time — and it's terrible, every day."

In the next few months, Kiess has vowed to push forward to ensure that the Grieving Families Act is signed into law. And he plans to continue in his quest to advocate for safer roadways — and to "fight the fight," so that no other family ever has to bear the weight of his family's unyielding grief.

The Farrell family has also been seeking justice for their unthinkable loss.

In October, one week after James Farrell, the father of two young men killed in a head-on crash that left five dead in July filed a notice of claim against Quogue Village Police and village officials, police released new information stating that the driver who slammed into an Uber was driving up to 106 miles per hour before the crash with no headlights — and stating that "there was no cause to pursue action" against the officer who was pursuing him.

The notice of claim, which seeks $40 million in damages, states that the Farrell brothers died as the result of "carelessness, recklessness, gross negligence, negligence and reckless disregard for the safety of others" by Quogue Village Police, including an officer who "improperly" pursued Mendez.

The Quogue Village Police Department said the New York State Police's collision reconstruction unit recovered data from the event data recorders, known as the black boxes, of both vehicles, which showed Mendez' Nissan Maxima's speed at the time of the collision was 86 miles per hour, with its top speed of 106 miles per hour 3.5 seconds prior to the collision, with no indication of braking.

The speed of the Uber, a Toyota Prius, at the time of collision was 27 miles per hour, with a top speed of approximately 38 miles per hour 4 seconds prior to impact with braking, police said.

A witness who was traveling in a car east on County Road 80 was also interviewed, police said.

"I saw a red car near the old VFW in Quogue on Montauk Highway," the witness said. "I did not realize until after my headlights had illuminated the vehicle that the red car had no lights on and was completely blacked out. When this vehicle passed me, it appeared as the vehicle was traveling at over 100 miles per hour, which sounded like a race car, taking my breath away. Next, I saw a police car with the emergency lights on around 100 yards or 10 to 15 seconds behind the red car, with the police car not making any headway of closing the distance between them."

Any death of a person potentially caused by an act or omission of a police officer is reviewed by the New York State Attorney General's Office, police said. "That office reviewed this incident and indicated that there was no cause to pursue action against the police officer," police said.

Farrell also previously filed a notice of claim against Suffolk County. Farrell, who lives in Plandome Heights, is represented by Garden City-based attorney Robert Sullivan.

Sullivan had no comment after the Quogue Village Police Department's release.

Kiess also spoke on the Quogue Village Police Department's release: "While the Quogue Village Police Department seems eager to release to the public data highlighting the reckless conduct of the driver of the Nissan Maxima, we are greatly troubled by the lack of transparency with regard to the Quogue Police's own conduct in this tragedy."

He added: "Notwithstanding the alleged findings of the New York State General, it seems apparent that the Nissan driver was pushed to such reckless conduct in an attempt to evade the pursuit by the Quogue Police, a pursuit that, at this point, seems unjustified and reckless in itself."

Kiess said he and his family were previously advised by the Quogue Police that the pursuing officer first identified the Nissan three-quarters of a mile away from the crash site traveling at a rate of 55 miles per hours in a 30 mph zone, a routine traffic violation that would have warranted an attempted stop by the police but not a high-speed pursuit causing the driver to double his speed toward a dangerous, curved section of Montauk Highway, he said.

"Many questions remain unanswered by the Quogue Police: I would like to know the maximum speed of the police car and the length of the pursuit? What is the QPD policy on pursuits and what training did the officer have in this area? We await the release of the full collision reconstruction report by the New York State Police as well as the dashcam footage and radio communications of the Quogue Police Department," Kiess said.

Quogue Village Police said they had no further comment.

Kiess also asked, with Mendez documented as speeding 106 miles per hour, if "the police officer may have even exceeded that speed himself and if so, that is a reckless act by the police." Kiess said he believes, In light of five people dying, the Chief of Police should resign."

Also, Kiess maintains, although the AG's findings did not warrant criminal charges, "that does not mean there weren't misdoings and I will be seeking civil damages. In the end, the whole truth will come out," he said.

At the funeral for the Farrell brothers, hundreds turned out in mourning. Letters were read from the many friends, heartbroken, who shared memories.

After the crash, Quogue Village Police unveiled further information at a press event.

Investigators believe Mendez' excessive speed may have been a factor in the crash; police said.

Marijuana was found in his vehicle and unconfirmed witness reports indicated Mendez may have turned his headlights off after police began to follow him, authorities said.

When asked for the results of the toxicology report on Mendez, the Suffolk County Medical Examiner's Office referred the request to Suffolk County. A media rep for Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone told Patch: "We do not release toxicology reports. It is considered a medical record."

The heartbroken families left behind have been united in crying out for safety improvements on the road where their loved ones lost their lives.

The young people called an Uber to be safe, Kiess said, after the crash. "They were doing the right thing." His son and his friends, Kiess said, "were all good kids. Our hearts are broken forever. Our lives will never be the same."