E. Meadow firefighter dies in crash after fete

An East Meadow Fire Department volunteer was killed when he veered off a parkway and crashed into a tree after the department's annual dinner, Nassau police said.

The firefighter, Simon Carr, 46, was in uniform as he drove a Hyundai south on the Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway at 12:30 a.m. Sunday after leaving the function at a Woodbury country club.

As he crossed through Plainview, "it appears he was in the left lane when he lost control of the vehicle, goes across three lanes, and strikes a sign and then a tree," said Det. Lt. Kevin Smith of the Nassau police.

Nassau police and the Syosset Fire Department responded after at least one person called 911. A fire department paramedic pronounced Carr dead at the scene about at 12:40 a.m., police said.

Carr, of East Meadow, was a volunteer with Ladder Company 1. Messages left for Chief Thomas Tergesen and several department heads were not returned Monday.

Attorney Joseph Frank of Massapequa, who represents the fire district, said Carr attended the annual installation dinner on Saturday night, when new officers were named and recognitions given.

Frank said the department preferred not to comment on Carr's service or the crash in deference to his family.

Attempts to reach a Carr family member were unsuccessful.

Police said skid marks on the parkway indicated that speed may have been a factor in the crash, and that it appeared Carr tried to recover after losing control.

There was no obvious sign that alcohol contributed to the crash, Smith said. An autopsy and toxicology test is to be completed by the county medical examiner.

Police had not received results as of Monday afternoon.