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.

Manuel Flores, 28, of Huntington Station is charged with leaving the scene of the crash that killed Mardoqueo Vasquez Vasquez, 44, also a resident of the hamlet, the department said.

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 police. He was not crossing at an intersection when he was struck about 5:40 p.m. the police press office wrote by email. He was brought by ambulance to Huntington Hospital, where he was declared dead, the office said.

Flores was charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash. He was being held at the Second Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip Monday.

The police press office didn't immediately answer an email asking why he's believed to be the hit-and-run driver. Flores couldn't be reached for comment.

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.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

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