Driver on drugs strikes, kills bicyclist in Middle Island, police say
The scene of the crash on Middle Country Road in Middle Island early Saturday morning. Credit: LiHotShots
Suffolk County police arrested a Miller Place man and charged him with fatally striking a bicyclist while driving on drugs early Saturday morning.
Vincent Rienzie Jr., 27, was driving a 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer west on Route 25 in Middle Island when he veered out of his lane and struck a bicyclist and a telephone pole about 4:20 a.m. near Picasso Way, police said.
The bicyclist, Stephen Salzman, 56, of Ridge, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Rienzie was taken to Stony Brook University Medical Center, where he was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening and charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, police said.
He is set to be arraigned Sunday morning in First District Court in Central Islip.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
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