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Teen critically hurt in Huntington hit-run; SUV sought

BY LAURA RIVERA AND KIMBERLEY A. MARTIN | laura.rivera@newsday.com

10:59 PM EDT, June 28, 2008

Accident scene Wall Street and Gerard Street, Huntinington

Scene of the incident at Wall Street and Gerard Street, Huntinington. (Newsday / Julia Gaines / June 28, 2008)

Police were looking yesterday for a black SUV they said sped off after hitting a group of teenagers following a late-night argument across from a Huntington Village movie theater.

Daniel Herion, 17, of Huntington Station, was taken to Huntington Hospital where he was listed in critical condition Friday night with serious head injuries, police said.

Two of Herion's cousins -- James Eato, 21, of Greenlawn, and Dante Allen, 15, of Huntington Station -- suffered leg injuries when they were also struck by the SUV, police said. Troy Green, 12, of Huntington Station, was also injured, police said.

Police said they are searching for a black SUV, either a Jeep Cherokee or a Jeep Liberty. Witnesses said three males in their late teens were in the vehicle that sped off northbound on Wall Street. The incident started about 11 p.m. Friday, police said. It was sparked by an argument between some pedestrians and the vehicle occupants that escalated into a fistfight in the Dairy Barn parking lot on Wall Street, police said.

The teenagers were among a group congregating across from the AMC Loews Shore 8 -- a popular late-night gathering place for area youth. Police said a group of eight young people were walking on Wall Street in front of the Dairy Barn near Gerard Street when an altercation ensued with the SUV occupants.

One of the youths thought the SUV almost hit him. Words were exchanged and one of the group punched an occupant of the SUV, police said.

The driver of the SUV then backed up, police said, and drove forward, striking four members of the group before fleeing.

Two of those who were struck by the SUV said the driver went after them on purpose.

"It was done intentionally," said Dante Allen yesterday as he stood with crutches outside of Herion's apartment in Huntington Station. "He could've gone straight, but he turned the car towards us."

Police did not say whether they believed the driver targeted the victims.

Police said Herion had serious head injuries. Eato said he and Herion, who will be a senior this fall at Huntington High School, were at the theater on Wall Street deciding what movie to see when they noticed the commotion nearby and got involved to protect Herion's younger brother.

"I had a bad feeling and wanted to make sure he wasn't getting involved," Eato said, referring to Herion's brother, his cousin. "They should've just made the right turn, not sit there and instigate with these little kids."