Arrest in Fatal April Hit-and-Run

Chace Quinn, a 19-year-old Southampton resident, was charged Monday with vehicular manslaughter in the death of a delivery truck driver in April.

Southampton Town Police Department

May. 30, 2018

Taylor K. Vecsey

Nearly two months after a delivery driver was killed in a hit-and-run on County Road 39 in Southampton, police arrested the man they say was responsible.

Chace Quinn, 19, of Southampton was charged with vehicular manslaughter in the first degree and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in a death, both felonies. He is being held on $1 million cash bail or $2 million bond.

Southampton Town police said Mr. Quinn was behind the wheel of a 2013 Jeep Wrangler when he hit Joseph Lynn McAlla, who was making a delivery to Southampton Masonry. The driver left the scene and Mr. McAlla, 63, of Clifford, Pa., was found dead in the roadway on County Road 39 at about 2:30 a.m. on April 5.

A joint investigation ensued, with town police, the New York State Police accident reconstruction unit, the State Police investigative unit, taking part with and assistance from the United States Marshall Service, the Suffolk County Police Department, and the district attorney's office.

Police had reportedly been looking for Mr. Quinn for some time.

State police apprehended him during a traffic stop on Sunrise Highway on Monday at 2:30 a.m. It was unclear where he had been.

Mr. Quinn also faces additional charges from other incidents. He was charged with second-degree gang assault, a felony, stemming from a March 31 incident. Southampton Village police also charged him with obstruction of governmental administration in the second degree, a misdemeanor, in connection with a Dec. 4, 2017, incident. And this year, state police charged him with menacing in the second degree, a misdemeanor, regarding an incident that occurred on March 16.

Newsday reported that Mr. Quinn was also charged with witness intimidation related to an incident on Saturday on the Shinnecock Reservation in which he allegedly placed a gun on the lap of a witness who was going to talk to police about the April accident.

The investigation into that accident is continuing. Southampton Town Police's detective division has asked that anyone with information contact detectives at 631-702-2230.