Cops: Driver of car in Horton Avenue crash was drunk, charged with DWI before being airlifted

The man airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital Monday afternoon following a crash on Horton Avenue in Riverhead was driving drunk, Riverhead Town Police said.

Robert McCoy, 50, of Hauppauge, was placed under arrest at the scene of the crash, charged with driving while intoxicated, before he was placed into a Suffolk County Med Evac helicopter for transport to Stony Brook. Police said he suffered serious injuries in the crash.

McCoy’s 2009 Honda Accord was westbound on Reeves Avenue when it collided with a northbound 2008 Dodge 4500 series truck at the intersection of Reeves and Horton avenues. The truck was operated by Samuel McCoy, 63, of Riverhead. The truck struck the driver’s side door of the Honda.

There are stop signs on Reeves Avenue at the intersection. Police did not say whether the Honda failed to stop.

The impact of the collision sent both vehicles careening through the deer fencing at the perimeter of the farm located on the northwest corner of the intersection.

Boxes being carried by the truck, a flatbed, were strewn about the intersection and the field.

Riverhead volunteer firefighters were called to the scene to extricate McCoy from the Honda, and to secure a landing zone for the police helicopter. Firefighters were later called back to the scene for a “wash down” to remove chemicals from the roadway.

Police are asking any witnesses to the accident, which occurred shortly after 3 p.m. Monday, to contact the detective division at 631-727-4500.

The two men, though they have the same surname, are not related, police said.

Samuel McCoy, the driver of the truck, was transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center by Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. By law, a person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

RiverheadLOCAL photos by Peter Blasl and Emil Breitenbach Jr.
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