Bertha Dantant arrested in hit-and-run crash that left bicyclist James Lantero critically injured in Wyandanch, police say
Police tape stretching across a road in front of a crime scene. Credit: Getty Images/Ajax9
A Wyandanch woman was arrested in a hit-and-run crash that critically injured a bicyclist on Friday night in Wyandanch, Suffolk police said.
Bertha Dantant, 49, was driving west on Irving Avenue in a 2011 Toyota Camry when she struck James Lantero, 51, who was riding his bicycle north on Lewis Street around 10 p.m., police said in a news release.
Dantant drove off and left Lantero, of Ronkonkoma, "critically injured," police said in the release.
Lantero was taken to a hospital in West Islip and remains in critical condition.
A Suffolk police spokesperson could not immediately provide information on Saturday morning about Lantero's injuries or how long after the collision he received treatment.
Dantant was arrested shortly after the crash on Friday night, according to the police spokesperson, who said the suspect was found near the crash.
She was arraigned in Central Islip’s First District Court on Saturday and released without cash bail, according to online court records. Dandant was represented by the Suffolk County Legal Aid Society, records show.
Suffolk County investigators are asking anyone with additional information about the crash to contact the agency at 631-852-6555.
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
Sam Kmack covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously worked as a city watchdog reporter in the Phoenix metro area, as well as an investigative journalist at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.
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