(Updated:11:30 a.m.) A 12-year-old Wading River boy died after being struck by a vehicle police said was driven by a drunk driver Sunday afternoon in Manorville.
Police identified the deceased victim as Andrew McMorris of Randall Road, Wading River. He was a seventh-grade student at the Shoreham-Wading River Middle School.
Four other Boy Scouts from Troop 161 in Shoreham were injured, one of them critically, police said. Thomas Lane, 15, of Shoreham, was airlifted to Stony Brook with serious injures, police said. Denis Lane, 16, of Shoreham, Kaden Lynch, 15, and Matthew Yakaboski, 15, both of Calverton — sustained non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Photo: Suffolk County Police
Police said the boys were hiking on David Terry Road yesterday afternoon just before 2 p.m. and were walking on the shoulder of the road when they were struck by a 2016 Mercedes driven by Thomas Murphy, 59, of Holbrook.
Murphy was charged with driving while intoxicated, police said. He was due to be arraigned today in First District Court in Central Islip.
A spokesperson for Shoreham-Wading River School District said in a statement that the district was “deeply saddened to learn of the horrific accident that occurred this weekend involving several Shoreham-Wading River students, which resulted in the tragic passing of one of our middle school students.”
The district’s crisis response team is working to help the school community cope with this loss, the spokesperson said.
“Support services will be made available to students and staff as needed. Parents/guardians are encouraged to call the school’s guidance department if they would like to speak with a counselor about addressing this matter with their children or if they too need grief support,” the statement said.
Detectives are asking anyone who may have witnessed this incident to call the Major Case Unit at 631-852-6555 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220 TIPS.
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.
This story has been updated with additional information provided by police and the school district since its first publication.
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