Family mourns Patchogue man killed in alleged DWI crash

Kevin Mead took his mother's cautions about drunken driving to heart - at one point even volunteering his nights to drive strangers home in a designated-driver program.

But police said it was a drunken driver who ultimately took Mead's life.

Monday, Mead's family gathered in his Patchogue home to remember the UPS driver and father of a 4-year-old boy, who is just beginning to understand that his daddy is gone.

Mead's mother, Kathy Lohr-Mead, said her son loved outdoor sports, fishing and hunting, even naming his son Hunter. "He was just coming into manhood, and things were going good," she said of her son. "Here he was, having a great job. He just set up a 401(k). He had a life insurance policy for his son."

Mead, 27, and his fiancee, Stephanie Collins, 24, had been on their way to the airport for a long-awaited trip to Disney World early Oct. 3 when an allegedly intoxicated Nesconset man slammed into the back of their car in Bohemia, Suffolk police said.

Mead, who was in the backseat, was taken to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center with severe head and chest trauma. Collins and her father, Alan, who was driving, were not seriously injured.

Mead was supposed to be celebrating his birthday the next day at Disney World with his girlfriend, who believes that he had planned to propose to her on the trip. Instead, he turned 27 while unconscious in a hospital room, battling injuries that he died of Thursday.

The man accused of crashing into Mead's car, who police said then fled on foot, Robert Watson, 24, of Nesconset, has been charged with driving while intoxicated, leaving the scene of an accident with an injury and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

The Suffolk district attorney's office said it has not yet decided on additional charges against Watson.

Watson's attorney, Craig McElwee of North Babylon, said Watson's chief concern was the welfare of the passengers in the other car, and McElwee said Watson has asked about them repeatedly, weeping when he realized the severity of the injuries.

"Whether my client is criminally culpable or not, will be determined down the road," McElwee said in a statement. "Right now, he is dealing with the fact that another family is mourning the loss of a loved one and he is powerless to change that outcome or even express his remorse to that young man's friends and family."

Lohr-Mead said she took some solace in Mead's decision to become an organ donor. "I am immensely proud of him that he did this, that he cared enough about others to even think about it," Lohr-Mead said. "He was thinking, 'Well, if something happens, let them use whatever they can use.' "

In addition to his mother, son, and fiancee, Mead is survived by father Michael Mead of Yaphank,sisters Karen Mead of Patchogue and Heather Mead of upstate Cattaraugus, brother Shawn Mead of Patchogue, his grandparents and other family members.

Visitation will be Tuesday from 2-4 and 7-10 p.m., and a service will be held Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at Robertaccio's Funeral Home in Patchogue.

Correction: The original version of this story did not list the victim's father as a survivor.

Designated-driver programs on LI

Denna Cohen, president of Long Island Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said people who intend to drink should think about how they're going to get home before they imbibe.

"A group of friends getting together should designate a driver who will not be drinking anything alcoholic and will be able to drive the group home," Cohen said.

Several resources are available:

National Saferides, a nonprofit in Bay Shore, provides rides home for people too drunk to drive. Prior registration is required. 631-338-1694 or nationalsaferides.org

Lilybug in the Hamptons sends a sober driver on a small foldable scooter to drive an intoxicated person home in his or her own car for a fee. 866-678-5459 or lilybugscooters.com

Long Island Driver and Long Island Driver for Hire offer designated drivers for hire. Contact Long Island Driver at 516-983-0498 or longislanddriver.com; Long Island Driver for Hire at 631-254-4473 or lidriverforhire.com

- JENNIFER BARRIOS

Correction: The original version of this story did not list the victim's father as a survivor.