Peconic man charged with aggravated vehicular homicide in crash that killed friend

A Peconic man, driving intoxicated after a night drinking with two lifelong friends, drove off the road and crashed into a tree in August, killing the backseat passenger and injuring the other, Suffolk County prosecutors said.

Kyle Flanagan, 22, was arraigned Monday and charged with two counts each of aggravated vehicular homicide, aggravated vehicular assault, second-degree assault and driving while intoxicated, and one count each of second-degree manslaughter, aggravated driving while intoxicated, driving while impaired by drugs and reckless driving.

Flanagan, a recent graduate of Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, was released on $25,000 bail and his driver's license was suspended.

“This defendant’s dangerous and deadly actions allegedly caused the untimely death of a young man who was just beginning his adult life," said Suffolk District Attorney Raymond Tierney. "This should have been a time of great joy for these young men. Instead, a weekend that was supposed to be fun ended in tragedy.” 

John Loturco, Flanagan's Huntington-based defense attorney, called the case "heartbreaking for all involved. We deeply sympathize with the profound and everlasting sense of loss to the Clinton family. Kyle is also grieving over the loss of his best friend and his current focus is honoring the memory of Brian Clinton."

According to court documents, on Aug. 20 Brian Clinton and Malcolm Pakola, both 22 and lifelong friends with Flanagan, were visiting the defendant in Peconic for the weekend and spent the night drinking at home.

Shortly before 6 a.m. the men got into the defendant's 2019 Ford Ranger and were driving southbound on Wells Road in Peconic when Flanagan drove off the road, onto a lawn and into a tree, prosecutors said.

The impact of the crash crushed the front of the pickup truck, seriously injuring Pakola, the front seat passenger, authorities said. 

Clinton, the back seat passenger, had to be extricated from the vehicle by emergency responders, officials said. He was rushed to Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport and pronounced dead.

Pakola was taken by ambulance to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead and diagnosed with a right femur fracture that required surgery, prosecutors said.

Flanagan was found in the driver's seat, slumped over the steering wheel, in a semiconscious state with the smell of alcohol on his breath, authorities said.

He was extricated from the vehicle and airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital where he was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, authorities said.

Flanagan is due back in court Jan. 17.