Jose Morales, 62, of Bay Shore, killed when motorcycle collides with car

A Bay Shore grandfather of five was killed in a motorcycle crash Sunday morning.

Jose Morales, 62, was driving a 2005 Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle south on Fifth Avenue near Candlewood Avenue in North Bay Shore around 11:58 a.m. when he collided with a 2007 Honda Accord whose driver, an 18-year-old woman, had been northbound on Fifth and was making a left turn, according to Suffolk County police. 

 First responders pronounced Morales dead at the scene and the driver of the sedan was not injured, a police spokesperson said. No charges have been filed against the surviving driver, police said.

Morales, who was born in Puerto Rico, had lived in Bay Shore for over 30 years and was a truck driver, according to his daughter, Lissette Morales, of Texas. He was planning on retiring soon and loved to drive his motorcycle in his free time, she said.

"He was a strong, hardworking dad. He did everything that he could possible to give us the best life," she said by phone.

At around 1 p.m., crash investigators were taking pictures and measurements of the scene on Fifth Avenue under a clear, sunny sky.

Morales' body, which they had partially covered in a yellow cloth, was still lying next to his blue motorcycle in the middle turning lane, just outside the entrance to Fifth Ave Plaza, a strip mall, where streetlamps were festooned with balloons for Mother's Day. Yards away, the red Honda sedan with which his motorcycle collided was resting partially on the sidewalk amid broken glass and other debris.

Suffolk police are asking anyone with information on the crash to contact the Third Squad at 631-854-8352.