Two Bad Accidents
On Monday night, the tail end of Labor Day, police floodlights illuminated the eastern end of the Napeague stretch where the new and old Montauk Highways meet. Five people had been injured there in a serious motor vehicle accident, including the driver and passenger of a 1997 Harley Davidson motorcycle.
Most seriously injured in the 8 p.m. crash was the motorcycle passenger, Audrey Russell, 29, who police described as incoherent and bleeding severely from head wounds, though conscious, when help arrived. On Tuesday she was listed in stable condition with a fractured skull at Stony Brook University Medical Center, where she was transferred Monday night upon her arrival at Southampton Hospital.
Head-On Crash
The driver of the Harley, Mark B. Austin, 32, of New York City was in fair condition at Southampton Hospital as of Tuesday afternoon. Police said he suffered multiple leg fractures as well as lacerations. Both he and Ms. Russell were wearing helmets, which saved their lives, "no question about it," according to Capt. Todd Sarris of the East Hampton Town Police.
A number of persons were witness to the accident, in which a blue Honda driven by Hubert Lewis Jr., 33, of the Bronx hit the motorcycle head-on. "It was a horrible thing to see," said one, Laura Jensen of Brook hav en.
According to police, Mr. Lewis, westbound, stopped on Old Montauk Highway at its intersection with Route 27 before striking the brand-new motorcycle, which was headed east from 27 onto the new highway. Mr. Lewis was ticketed for allegedly failing to yield the right of way and driving without a license.
Mrs. Jensen was driving west when the motorcycle passed her. She glanced in her rear-view mirror, she told The Star, and saw the Honda pull "right out" in front of it.
"Oh my God, they got hit," she exclaimed to her husband. The couple, who had spent the holiday weekend in Montauk, stopped, and Mrs. Jensen grabbed a towel and pajamas from her bag to put over Ms. Russell.
Kept Talking
"She was bleeding a lot," said Mrs. Jensen, a clinical nurse assistant at the Veterans Home in Stony Brook. She talked to Ms. Russell as much as she could, she said, trying to keep her conscious.
Mr. Lewis and two of his passengers, Anita Nelson and Siri Nelson, complained of pain and were also taken to Southampton Hospital, which released them after treatment. The hospital had no record of another passenger, Rose Nelson.
In all, seven members of the East Hampton Town Police Department, Amagansett Fire Department volunteers, and four Montauk and Amagansett ambulances responded to the collision. Late holiday traffic on Napeague was stalled for about an hour.
No alcohol or drugs were involved in the accident, police said. Both vehicles were impounded for safety checks.
Teenager Injured
Two nights earlier on Napeague, a 16-year-old girl crossing Montauk Highway in front of Cyril's Fish House was struck and seriously injured by an eastbound limousine. The accident occurred just before 10:20 p.m., when Jacklyn Greenmann of Summit, N.J., stepped onto the highway to cross over to Navahoe Lane opposite.
Brendan Fay of East Moriches, a driver for Spotlite Limousine of Lake Grove, told police the girl began to cross, then stopped on the double yellow line. He said he let up on the gas and stepped on the brake. Just as he got within 10 feet of the teenager, he said, she stepped out in front of the car. Witnesses said the girl was holding a glass in her hand, but police had no information on what might have been in it.
Though Mr. Fay attempted to swerve, he told police, the front driver's-side corner of the limousine struck the 16-year-old.
She was rushed to Southampton Hospital with suspected internal injuries, and spent two nights there before being discharged on Monday.