North Babylon man who was fatally stabbed remembered by parents

The grieving parents of a North Babylon man Suffolk police said was stabbed to death after a traffic dispute remembered their son Sunday as a strong-minded young man preparing for life as an engineer.

Allen and Angelique Smith of Buford, Georgia, arrived on Long Island on Saturday as news of Nyquan Banister’s death spread among family members. They most recently saw their son, 21, when he made a surprise visit to Buford last week to spend a few days, Angelique Smith said.

“It can’t be true. He’s too good of a person,” his mother said, recalling her first thoughts when told of the fatal stabbing. “It’s still unreal. It hasn’t set in.”

Suffolk police said Banister and another man, also 21, were driving southwest about 9:20 a.m. Friday on Straight Path near Commander Avenue when the dispute took place with someone in another vehicle heading in the same direction.

Both vehicles stopped at Commander Avenue, a fight ensued, and Banister and the other man were both stabbed, police said.

Banister was pronounced dead at a hospital and the other victim was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.

Banister’s parents said Sunday they have been waiting for details from Suffolk police but haven’t gotten any.

They said the other victim, who they described as a friend of their son, told their daughter in a recorded conversation they heard, he was driving and Banister was the passenger. As the altercation escalated, the friend said, he and Banister got out of their vehicle and three men got out of what police described as a white sport utility vehicle with out-of-state license plates.

Allen Smith, 46, Banister’s stepfather, said the driver told his daughter that after the stabbings, he rushed to a nearby home and asked someone to call 911.

Suffolk police Sunday couldn’t confirm how many people were in the other vehicle. The initial news release regarding the altercation only described the SUV driven by a suspect and made no mention of anyone else.

Police have released no information since Friday and said on Sunday that no one has been arrested.

Banister graduated in 2012 from North Babylon High School where he played varsity football, his family said. He planned to enroll in an engineering program at Monroe College in New Rochelle in May, according to his family.

His parents, staying with relatives in Wheatley Heights, said they took comfort Easter Sunday knowing they were able to see their son one last time before his life ended.

“This was God’s plan before he was born,” said Angelique Smith, 43, a mother of five, holding back tears.

Allen Smith said that “as bad as it sounds, he sent him to us for that reason. . . . I’m not mad at God,” he said. “This is one of those things you never see when you’re doing all that you can do.”

Homicide Squad detectives are investigating, and anyone with information is asked to call 631-852-6394 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 800-220-TIPS.