Brentwood man is second person killed in crash, driver charged, police say
A second person has died in connection with a crash Saturday night in which a Brentwood man rear-ended a car that was pushed into the opposite traffic lane, police said.
Christian Lopez, 27, is facing a charge of driving while impaired by drugs following a crash that had killed a woman and injured eight others Saturday night, Suffolk police said.
The driver of the Toyota he hit, Rodolfo Polanco, 59, of Brentwood, the woman's husband, has now also died from his injuries, Suffolk police said Monday in a release.
Lopez was driving a 2014 Acura TL eastbound on Second Avenue just west of Hilltop Drive in Brentwood about 9:40 p.m. when his car hit the back of a 2004 Toyota Camry also traveling east, according to police. The impact pushed the Toyota into the westbound lane where a westbound 2021 Jeep Wrangler hit its passenger side.
Polanco's wife, Soraida Polanco, 57, of Brentwood, a front seat passenger in the Toyota, was taken to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore where she died, police said Sunday. Her husband died at the same hospital, police said Monday.
A backseat passenger was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip with non-life-threatening injuries.
Attempts to reach members of the Polanco family were unsuccessful.
Blanca Garcia, 71, of Brentwood, a backseat passenger in the Jeep, was transported to South Shore University Hospital with serious injuries. The driver and other passengers in the Jeep, including two children, were transported to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
Lopez was treated for minor injuries and released, police said.
The Brentwood Legion Ambulance and Brentwood Fire Department responded to the crash along with others.
Major Case Unit detectives charged Lopez with driving while ability impaired by drugs.
He was held overnight at the Third Precinct, and at his arraignment Sunday in First District Court Judge Alonzo G. Jacobs ordered Lopez held in lieu of $10,000 cash bail or $40,000 bond, according to court records. His attorney, Carrié Solages, did not return a call for comment.
Detectives ask anyone with information on the crash to call the Major Case Unit at 631-852-6553.
Vera Chinese joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.
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