Manuel Flores, of Huntington Station, charged in fatal hit-and-run, police say

A man has been charged in a hit-and-run crash that killed a pedestrian crossing a Huntington Station street on Sunday evening, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.

The man, Manuel Flores, 28, of Huntington Station, is charged with leaving the scene of the crash that killed Bacilio Mardoqueo Vasquez Vasquez, 44, also a resident of the hamlet, the department wrote in a news release.

At an arraignment on Monday, Flores pleaded not guilty and was ordered jailed on $200,000 cash bail, $400,000 insured bond or $2 million partially secured surety bond, according to the state court database. It's not clear whether bail was posted. The case is due back in court Friday.

A message left with Flores’ lawyer, Jason Bassett, of Central Islip, was not immediately returned.

In the moments before being struck, Vasquez Vasquez had been walking across New York Avenue west to east, just south of West 19th Street, according to the release. He was not crossing at an intersection when he was struck at about 5:40 p.m., the police press office  wrote by email. Vasquez Vasquez was found in the northbound lane, the email said. He was brought by ambulance to Huntington Hospital, where he was declared dead, the release said.

Flores was charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash. The press office didn't answer an email asking why he's believed to be the hit-and-run driver. 

In 2024, the most recent year for which complete statistics are available, 308 pedestrians in New York State were killed by drivers, including 63 on Long Island: 37 in Suffolk and 26 in Nassau, according to tallies by the University at Albany-based Institute for Traffic Safety Management & Research. Those statistics include all deaths, not just fatal hit-and-runs.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.