Suffolk PD reviewing department's response to 1-car crash involving Huntington supervisor

Suffolk County police said they are conducting a follow-up inquiry of the department’s response to a single-vehicle crash on Aug. 8 involving Huntington Town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci in his town-owned SUV.

Police, in an Aug. 26 email to Newsday, wrote that the department is reviewing "the incident and the police response. We are unable to comment further until the review has been completed."

They did not say why they are conducting the review or how long it will take.

Lupinacci did not respond to several requests for comment. He did not take any days off from work and presided at the Aug. 11 town board meeting.

Huntington Town spokeswoman Lauren Lembo said the crash happened around the corner from Lupinacci’s home in Melville and that he was not injured.

Lembo said the supervisor was in shock, couldn’t find his cellphone and walked away from the scene to get help from a neighbor to call police. He encountered a passing motorist and asked them to call police, Lembo said.

Police have not said where they encountered the supervisor, whether a field sobriety test or a Breathalyzer was administered, or if a ticket was issued for allegedly leaving the scene of an accident. Lembo said Lupinacci was not issued any citations.

Lupinacci was driving south on West Hills Road when his vehicle slid on wet pavement and struck a utility pole 50 feet north of Chichester Road, police said. They said Lupinacci was alone and no injuries were reported.

The call to police about the crash came in at 12:45 a.m.

Suffolk police wrote in an Aug. 25 email to Newsday that "a representative from the Town of Huntington responded to the scene and identified Chad Lupinacci as the operator." The email also said the vehicle had been found unattended, something police had not previously stated.

The vehicle sustained $22,000 in damage and has been repaired, Lembo said. She would not say where Lupinacci was coming from or going to the morning of the accident.

"The supervisor is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; he uses the vehicle accordingly," she wrote in an Aug. 30 email.