Ryan Falek, Aquebogue man hit in parking lot by fitness center, dies of his injuries, Riverhead police say
A 68-year-old Aquebogue man has died from injuries he sustained when he was hit by the driver of a car in a parking lot last week in Riverhead, Riverhead Town Police said Friday.
Police said Ryan Falek, who was struck Sept. 8 at 9:29 a.m. in the parking lot in front of Planet Fitness on Old Country Road, died at South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore.
The 52-year-old female driver of the 2017 Honda Ridgeline that struck Falek has not been charged. Police said an investigation by the Riverhead Detective Division, as well as members of the State Police Forensic Investigation Unit determined the crash was "noncriminal."
Police said Falek was first transported by Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, before being transferred to South Shore, where he died last weekend.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
