Plainedge High School senior Dylan Nuccio, killed in car crash, mourned by family, friends

Family and friends mourned Plainedge High School student Dylan Nuccio, who was killed Tuesday morning in North Massapequa when his car left the road and crashed into a grove of trees off the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway. 

Nassau County police said Nuccio, 17, of Farmingdale, was driving a 2019 BMW at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday when he crashed on the northbound ramp from Hicksville Road at Exit 5. 

“It's a very hard time for all of us; it's very hard time for his mother and his family,” said Anthony DeMieri, a friend who spoke on behalf of the family. “Unfortunately, it was just a really bad accident … We are going to have to breathe and move forward. And hopefully, we could just remember him as the beautiful young, bright star that he was about to be.”

Visitation for Nuccio will be Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the William E. Law Inc. Funeral Home in Massapequa. The funeral will be Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at St. James Roman Catholic Church in Seaford.

DeMieri said Nuccio was driving home for lunch, less than three miles away from the high school.

Police said the car “was found up on its side” after it left the road and struck a tree. Nuccio was declared dead at the scene and police identified him Wednesday.

Police did not provide any additional details regarding the cause of the crash.

On Tuesday, the district’s superintendent, Edward A. Salina, said that high school students were not permitted to leave for lunch or free periods until further notice. The district also canceled all sporting events until next week.

“I want to once again thank everyone for the outpouring of support during this very challenging time. We continue to work together to support our students and staff as we take the time to process this heartbreaking loss,” Salina said in a message on the district's website Wednesday.

Classmates gathered at the crash site Wednesday off the expressway to reflect and add to a memorial but declined to comment.

Friends and classmates also delivered memorials and gifts to the family’s Farmingdale home. Relatives and friends said Dylan’s mother, Colleen Nuccio, a former Plainedge teacher, was too distraught to talk about the loss.

DeMieri said Nuccio worked with him at his body shop along with Nuccio's sister. The teen spent his free time working on his BMW after he recently got his driver’s license.

Dylan’s father, Tommy Nuccio, died in March 2021 from COVID-19, DiMieri said.

“He loved the life. He really did. He just got his car,” DiMieri said. “We all know what that's like to get your first car. You know, he loved it and was always cleaning it.”

Nuccio's death had been announced Tuesday by Salina in messages to parents.

The district launched its Crisis Intervention Team of mental health professionals and counselors to help students, parents and staff and established a crisis center Tuesday and Wednesday at Plainedge High School.

Athletic coaches and club advisers were urged to meet with teams and clubs to discuss the death.

There were more than 20 young drivers between the ages of 16 and 20 involved in fatal crashes on Long Island annually from 2019 to 2022, according to data kept by the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research at the University at Albany.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.