Authorities: Driver dead after crash into historic Quaker meeting house in Manhasset

A car crashed into a historic Manhasset building and burst into flames early Thursday, killing the driver, authorities said.

Around 5:40 a.m., fire officials received a 911 call reporting a motor vehicle had crashed into the Society of Friends Meeting House at 1421 Northern Blvd.

The vehicle was northbound on Shelter Rock Road when it drove into the building at the intersection of Northern Boulevard and hit the building's left wing, said Nassau Det. Lt. Scott Skrynecki.

The vehicle was engulfed in flames after crashing into the building.

After firefighters extinguished the blaze, they found the burned body of a person in the driver's seat. There were no other occupants of the vehicle or inside the building, Skrynecki said. No other vehicles were involved.

Skrynecki said Thursday no identification of the victim had been made.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

The Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department was assisted at the scene by firefighters from Port Washington, Plandome and Great Neck. Fire officials said the building sustained significant damage.

According to its website, the current meeting house dates back to the 19th century. The Quaker group dates to 1703 and has held meetings in various nearby locations on the Cow Neck Peninsula ever since, the website's historical section says.

Dick Lopez, who attends weekly Sunday meetings at the building, said he was shocked to learn of the crash.

"It's a special place," he said

The building is used for home schooling and cultural programs as well, he said.

The Meeting House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009 after operating continuously since 1812, according to historical records.

The property includes an adjacent burial ground and a 41-foot by 34-foot two-story Meeting House used by the Quakers to gather for centuries.

"The building and its site retain the character of an early Friends meeting house, in keeping with its 289-year history," applicants for the Register wrote in 2009. "The historic 1812 building stands basically unaltered ... The old meeting house is built with a roof framing system that was common to mid-Atlantic buildings during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries."

The National Register said the burial ground has existed since 1730 and is maintained by the Quakers. It includes about 259 known graves and an unknown number of marked graves, according to records.

Check back for updates on this developing story.