Account of fatal LIE crash angers father

The father of the Blue Point teenager struck and killed by a Suffolk County sheriff's patrol car was angered Friday by the official explanation that a deputy had been distracted by the glare from the sun.

"I don't want to hear about being blinded by the sun," Luigi Schettino said.

Schettino's 18-year-old son, William Schettino, an aspiring artist who had been on his way to night classes at Suffolk County Community College's Brentwood campus, was killed Wednesday night after his disabled car came to a stop in the westbound HOV lane of the Long Island Expressway in Ronkonkoma. Relatives said he called his mother and said he was scared at where the car had come to a stop.

Sheriff Chief of Staff Michael Sharkey said Thursday that Richard Tedesco, the 37-year-old deputy involved in the accident, had been blinded by the glare from the sun and was surprised by the stopped 2011 Mazda. Sharkey said Tedesco tried to swerve to his left onto a marked shoulder, but clipped the Mazda and struck the teen.

Luigi Schettino, though, said Friday, "What about everybody else that was on the road that day? They have sunglasses, policies and procedures. There were thousands of other motorists on the road that day and not one hit and killed by sun, except a deputy."

Sharkey declined to comment Friday, saying the accident investigation is continuing. Following standard procedure, the Suffolk County district attorney's office and the State Police are involved, authorities said.