Suffolk County’s roads turned deadly over the weekend, with four lives lost and others injured in a series of separate traffic incidents. What these events have in common is not just tragic timing—but a reminder of what happens when ordinary decisions carry extraordinary consequences.
The first occurred Saturday evening in Lindenhurst, where 53-year-old Jose Batresmendez of Copiague was struck by a motorcycle while crossing North Strong Avenue. The motorcyclist didn’t stop. Police say the driver fled the scene. Batresmendez was seriously injured and taken to Good Samaritan Hospital. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are asking the public for help identifying the rider.
Just a few hours later, 69-year-old Carlos Villafane of Mastic Beach was hit and killed on Sunrise Highway in Blue Point. According to police, he was standing in the center eastbound lane near Waverly Avenue when a Ford Mustang, attempting to avoid several pedestrians, struck him. The driver remained on the scene. Villafane died where he stood. The vehicle was impounded for a routine safety check.
That same night, a multi-vehicle crash in Massapequa claimed another life. Police say 19-year-old Brian Romero Guy August of Medford was driving a Bentley SUV and tried to turn right from a left-turn lane on Sunrise Highway near Unqua Road. The result was a chain-reaction collision involving a three-wheeled motorcycle, a second vehicle, and a utility pole.
The motorcyclist, 48-year-old Willie Singleton of Bay Shore, died at the hospital. His 47-year-old passenger was seriously injured. August is now facing charges that include vehicular manslaughter, assault, and driving while intoxicated.
And by Sunday morning, the toll climbed again. Twenty-six-year-old Airton Santos-Alexandre of Medford was riding a 2015 Suzuki southbound on Nicolls Road near Stony Brook University when he lost control. The bike hit a guardrail. He was thrown from the motorcycle and pronounced dead at the scene.
All these incidents occurred within a 36-hour span.
There is no one cause behind this weekend’s tragedies. But certain themes appear more than once: impaired driving, unsafe turns, and, in at least one case, the decision to flee. These are not abstract dangers—they are daily risks when people operate vehicles without caution or when rules are treated as suggestions.
Suffolk County’s roadways see high traffic volume, especially on routes like Sunrise Highway and Nicolls Road. These roads are fast-moving, and small misjudgments can lead to irreversible outcomes. The individuals involved did not all know each other, but they shared something in common: the normal act of traveling became something fatal—quickly and without warning.
As investigations continue, law enforcement asks anyone with information to come forward, particularly in the Lindenhurst hit-and-run case.
Tragedy is not always avoidable. But when it stems from preventable choices, it leaves communities not only grieving—but asking questions that shouldn’t have to be asked so often.
