2 cars hit and killed Roland DeGroff, father of 3, as he ran across North Ocean Avenue in Farmingville
The busy intersection of North Ocean Avenue and Granny Road in Farmingville. Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
The roadway is five lanes wide. Jackie DeGroff’s husband, Roland, made it across three.
Roland DeGroff, 58, of Port Jefferson Station, ran across North Ocean Avenue at Granny Road in Farmingville at about 7:40 p.m. on Feb. 5, 2023, against the light, when he was struck by a vehicle and then hit again by another, according to police. He died at a nearby hospital.
Neither driver was charged in the fatal crash, Jackie DeGroff said.
Roland’s death "just rocked our entire world," she said. Her three children "have not adjusted" in the two years since, she said.
DeGroff, 58, said she had to sell the house she shared with her husband of 32 years. She moved to a smaller place in Middle Island and had to take over her husband’s wood flooring business. She said she still struggles.
"I can’t seem to get the business going," she said. "I have to sell the house that I’m living in now ... It’s all very sad."
She described her husband as a hard worker who devoted 16 hours a day, seven days a week to his business. The couple shared three children and three grandchildren, one of whom was born after he died.
Roland was kind, funny and well-liked, she said.
"He was a good man," she said. "We had a good life."
DeGroff called the intersection where her husband was struck "horrible," with frequent speeders, and said the area could use more lighting.
"For the amount of money that we pay in taxes," DeGroff said, "I can’t believe that our roads are this way."
The roadway is five lanes wide. Jackie DeGroff’s husband, Roland, made it across three.
Roland DeGroff, 58, of Port Jefferson Station, ran across North Ocean Avenue at Granny Road in Farmingville at about 7:40 p.m. on Feb. 5, 2023, against the light, when he was struck by a vehicle and then hit again by another, according to police. He died at a nearby hospital.
Neither driver was charged in the fatal crash, Jackie DeGroff said.
Roland’s death "just rocked our entire world," she said. Her three children "have not adjusted" in the two years since, she said.
DeGroff, 58, said she had to sell the house she shared with her husband of 32 years. She moved to a smaller place in Middle Island and had to take over her husband’s wood flooring business. She said she still struggles.
"I can’t seem to get the business going," she said. "I have to sell the house that I’m living in now ... It’s all very sad."
She described her husband as a hard worker who devoted 16 hours a day, seven days a week to his business. The couple shared three children and three grandchildren, one of whom was born after he died.
Roland was kind, funny and well-liked, she said.
"He was a good man," she said. "We had a good life."
Roland DeGroff in an undated photo. Credit: DeGroff Family
DeGroff called the intersection where her husband was struck "horrible," with frequent speeders, and said the area could use more lighting.
"For the amount of money that we pay in taxes," DeGroff said, "I can’t believe that our roads are this way."
Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.
'I wish his life was longer' Long Island lost at least 5,800 years of life to fatal crashes in 2023. Newsday examines LI's dangerous roads in a yearlong investigative series. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn reports.
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'I wish his life was longer' Long Island lost at least 5,800 years of life to fatal crashes in 2023. Newsday examines LI's dangerous roads in a yearlong investigative series. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn reports.
