Prosecutors: Blue Point man charged in fatal crash while driving stolen truck

A Blue Point man has been indicted by a Suffolk County grand jury following a crash in October in which he allegedly struck and killed a Medford man in Holtsville while driving a stolen pickup, county prosecutors announced Friday.

Robert Hengeveld, 50, was arraigned Friday on the indictment of aggravated vehicular homicide and several other charges before acting County Supreme Court Justice Chris Ann Kelley, county prosecutors said in a statement. He was held without bail, prosecutors said.

On Oct. 19, Hengeveld crashed a Toyota Tacoma pickup into a Honda Civic driven by Starlin Diaz Felipe, prosecutors said. Felipe, 19, died at the scene, police said. Tariasha Smith, 25, of West Babylon, was ejected from the pickup, police said.

"The defendant showed no regard for the law or for the safety of others when he tore down the streets in an attempt to evade police," Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said in a statement. "Because of his reckless actions, a young man’s life was cut short and many others were put in danger."

The crash initially started as a pursuit, police said, after a Suffolk County police officer in a marked car tried to pull over Hengeveld on Long Island Avenue near Gazebo Lane. The pickup had stolen license plates and police said they later determined the pickup was also stolen.

Hengeveld did not pull over and drove off, police said. The office followed Hengeveld south on North Ocean Avenue, when he hit the Honda as it drove east on Express Drive South, police said.

A test taken of Hengeveld’s blood found cocaine, prosecutors said.

In addition, prosecutors said Hengeveld faces charges including second-degree manslaughter, second-degree manslaughter, and first-degree unlawful fleeing of a police officer in a motor vehicle.

Suffolk police have launched an internal investigation to determine if the pursuit complied with department policy, which is standard procedure. The Oct. 19 crash was the third fatal crash since 2018 in which a vehicle was chased by Suffolk police.