One person was killed and two others seriously injured in a head-on crash on Flanders Road in Flanders early Sunday morning.
Southampton Town Police said Juan Camilo Alape-Penuela, 22, of Riverhead, the operator of a 2005 Honda sedan, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Two female passengers sustained serious injuries. One passenger, who was entrapped in the vehicle, was flown by Suffolk County Police to Stony Brook University Hospital, police said. The other passenger, who was ejected from the vehicle, was taken by ambulance to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead.
The operator of the other involved vehicle, 2025 Chevrolet Malibu, sustained a head injury as a result of the collision and was transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment, according to the report.
Southampton Town Police said in a press release Sunday that they responded to a report of the accident, on Flanders Road (Route 24) near Birch Creek Road at 2:39 a.m. Sunday.
Patrol units responding to the scene found what appeared to be a head-on collision that resulted in both vehicles sustaining “catastrophic damage,” according to the press release.
Flanders Fire Department responded and extricated the entrapped passenger.
Southampton Town Detectives responded to the scene to investigate.
Additional agencies responded to assist, police said, included Flanders Northampton Ambulance, Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Southampton Village Volunteer Ambulance, Hampton Bays Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Westhampton Beach Village Police, New York State
Police and Suffolk County Park Rangers.
The Southampton Town Police Department’s Drone Unit was utilized to search the road and marsh areas adjacent to Flanders Road near the collision site for any possible additional victims.
The New York State Police Forensic Identification Unit responded to assist with the investigation and accident scene crash reconstruction.
Flanders Road was closed for several hours between Longneck Blvd in Flanders and Red Creek Road in Hampton Bays. The roadway was re-opened at 9:45 a.m., police said.
The Southampton Town Police Detective Division is actively investigating this incident. Detectives ask that anyone with information about this incident call 631-702-2230 or 631-728-3400.
Editor’s note: This story was amended to correct a mistake in Juan Camilo Alape-Penuela’s age as reported by the police department.
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