Driver crashes through barricade at Montauk Green, causes more than $100,000 in artwork damage, officials say
A driver crashed through a wooden barricade at Montauk Green early Sunday, damaging tents and artwork set up there for the annual Montauk Art Show, police and organizers said.
The driver, Nicoly Ribeiro De Souza, 23, of Farmingville, was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. De Souza was charged with driving while intoxicated and six counts of reckless criminal mischief, according to the East Hampton Police Department.
No other injuries were reported.
At about 3 a.m., the Nissan Rogue crashed through six tents, causing extensive damage, said John Papaleo, a member of the executive board of the Montauk Artists Association, which sponsors the art show.
A driver plowed through tents containing artwork that was going to be displayed on Montauk Green for a weekend art show. Credit: Jim Levison
"There’s well over $100,000 worth of damage" to the artwork and the tents, Papaleo said.
"These people that come to these shows, this is how they make their living," he said. "This is their livelihood."
The Montauk Art Show, which opened on Friday, features the work of local and touring artists. About 50 people worked to clean up the damaged tents and other debris, Papaleo said, so the show could open on schedule at 10 a.m. Sunday.
The association’s member tent was also wrecked, according to Evan Reinheimer, a photographer who was exhibiting and is on the show’s organizing committee. About 30 artists’ work was displayed in that tent, most of it damaged or destroyed, he said.
Jim Levison, a photographer from Sag Harbor who also helped organize the show, said when he arrived, it "looked like a tornado came through." His own tent was in the middle of the damage and about 20 of his photographs, including silver prints in expensive frames, were destroyed. His tent was also trashed. Levison said his losses were not as great as those of some other artists.
Extensive damage was reported after a driver plowed through tents containing artwork that was going to be displayed on Montauk Green. Credit: Jim Levison
"I can sit down at a printer, print pieces out and go to my framer and get them reframed." But one of the painters who was exhibiting at the show lost all her work from the past eight months, Levison said. "She works a long time on each piece."
The loss of artwork is devastating for these artists, Reinheimer said. Some of them "may have had their whole inventory in their booth," he said.
More coverage: Every 7 minutes on average a traffic crash causing death, injury or significant property damage happens on Long Island. A Newsday investigation found that traffic crashes killed more than 2,100 people between 2014 and 2023 and seriously injured more than 16,000 people. To search for fatal crashes in your area, click here.
'Really, really tough stuff to talk about' In Dec. 2024, an East Patchogue teen went missing for 25 days. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa spoke with reporter Shari Einhorn about the girl, her life, the search and some of Long Island's dark secrets the investigation exposed.
'Really, really tough stuff to talk about' In Dec. 2024, an East Patchogue teen went missing for 25 days. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa spoke with reporter Shari Einhorn about the girl, her life, the search and some of Long Island's dark secrets the investigation exposed.
