Man held in hit-run crash that seriously hurt two in Islandia, police say
Police have arrested a homeless man who detectives said fled the scene of an accident that left two people seriously injured early Tuesday in Islandia.
Suffolk County Police did not immediately detail where the suspect, identified as Andrew Barker, 46, was located and placed under arrest.
Police said Barker was the driver in the crash, which occurred at the intersection of Express Drive North and Old Nichols Road at about 2:40 a.m., and said that after his 1993 Ford Econoline van crashed into a 2006 Cadillac, seriously injuring the driver and a passenger, Barker abandoned the van — and took off on foot. He has been charged with two counts of leaving the scene of an incident involving serious physical injury and will be held overnight at the Fourth Precinct for arraignment Wednesday in First District Court, Central Islip.
Major Case Unit detectives said the Ford van driven by Barker struck the Cadillac driven by Shawn Kalinyak, 52, of West Babylon that was headed west on the service road. Kalinyak and passenger Carmen Abreu, 40, of Central Islip, were both taken to Stony Brook University Hospital in serious condition. Their injuries remain undisclosed at this time.
Hours after the crash, Major Case Unit detectives made a plea to the public seeking witnesses to the accident, as well as any information regarding the whereabouts of the driver, but police said investigators were able to track down prior owners of the van — and said that information helped them locate Barker.
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.”
