Suffolk County crashes: 1 motorcyclist killed, 1 hurt

One motorcyclist was killed and another seriously injured Saturday evening in separate crashes in Calverton and Copiague, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.

In Calverton, the motorcyclist was killed after he struck a sport utility vehicle as the SUV driver turned into the opposite lanes of traffic, according to a department news release Saturday.

The motorcyclist, Yener Can, 39, of Medford, was pronounced dead at the scene, the release said. The driver of the 2010 Honda CR-V, William Alberto Rodriguez-Campos, 24, was uninjured.

A relative of Can’s who answered the phone Sunday afternoon said the family was planning a funeral but his wife was too distraught to speak. Rodriguez-Campos couldn't be reached for comment. 

The crash happened about 7:35 p.m. as Rodriguez-Campos was turning into the northbound lanes of State Route  24 from the off-ramp of the eastbound Long Island Expressway at Exit 71, the release said. Can, on a Ducati motorcycle, was heading south on State Route 24 when he struck the SUV, the release said.

“The motorcyclist drove into the front driver’s side of the Honda. There were no tickets or summonses issued, and no criminality," the police press office wrote in an emailed response to questions. The press office declined to say which motorist was at fault.

About three hours later, a Copiague man riding a Suzuki motorcycle in the hamlet suffered serious injuries when he crashed into a sedan whose driver was turning left, the Suffolk police said in a news release early Sunday morning.

That motorcyclist, Rodney Roberts, 43, had been heading southbound on Straight Path about 10:30 p.m. when he crashed with the driver of a 2013 Nissan Sentra making a left to go north onto 35th Street, according to the release. 

Roberts was transported to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip. The Nissan driver, Damion McKenzie, 21, of Lindenhurst, was uninjured, the release said. Neither man could be immediately reached for comment.

In an email, the police press office wrote: "No arrests, tickets, summonses or any other manner of criminality. Fault has not been determined."

On Long Island in 2022, there were 688 motorcycle crashes — 369 in Suffolk and 319 in Nassau, according to preliminary statistics maintained by University at Albany-based Institute for Traffic Safety Management & Research. Of the 688 crashes, 32 were fatal — 19 in Suffolk and 13 in Nassau — and in 72% of the crashes there were physical injuries.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.