Cops: Speed may be factor in Northampton crash that killed 2

Speed may have played a role in Tuesday night’s car crash in Northampton that killed two men and left a woman in serious condition, according to police and hospital officials.

The two 20-year-old men killed in the single-vehicle crash were identified as driver Zachary Powell of East Moriches and Christian Goody of Shelter Island, Southampton Town police said. A second passenger, who survived but was in serious condition Wednesday, was identified by police as Ashley Picozzi, 18, of St. James.

The crash occurred after their 2004 Infiniti careered off County Road 51, a half-mile from Suffolk County Community College’s Eastern Campus, said Det. Sgt. Lisa Costa.

“It appears that speed may be a contributing factor,” she said Wednesday.

Police are in trying to determine how fast Powell was driving when he lost control of the car, veered off the road and drove into a wooded area at 9:51 p.m., Costa said.

The gray, two-door car overturned, trapping Powell and his passengers inside the mangled vehicle, Costa said. The two men were killed instantly.

“The car was completely demolished from every angle,” she said.

It took firefighters “a while” to cut the twisted metal and rescue Picozzi from the back seat of the Infiniti, Costa said. “The third person was extremely lucky to be alive,” she said.

Picozzi, who Costa said suffered broken bones, remained at Stony Brook University Hospital on Wednesday.

The three young adults, all friends, had stopped at a 7-Eleven in Riverhead just before the fatal crash, Costa said. At this point, it’s not known where they were coming from or going.

Charles Zelnick, owner of a plumbing and heating business in East Hampton, said Goody worked for him as a plumber.

“He was good kid. He had great work ethic. He liked being in the trade — hands-on kind of guy,” Zelnick said in a brief interview. “It’s a sad thing.”

Powell’s family could not be reached for comment. Picozzi’s mother declined to speak with a reporter.