Charged in Cyclist’s Death | The East Hampton Star

A Southampton man charged with drunken driving on May 2 after his car struck and killed a bicyclist on County Road 39 has been indicted by a grand jury on multiple felony charges, including manslaughter. Jesse Werner Steudte, 21, pleaded not guilty to the new charges at his arraignment Tuesday in the Central Islip courtroom of acting Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho.

Neil S. Fyfe, 29, a professional golf caddie from Aberdeen, Scotland, was biking home from his job at the Sebonack Club in Southampton when he was struck and killed by an eastbound 1990 Jeep. “Civilians in the area immediately started C.P.R. on Fyfe,” police said in a statement released the next day. He was taken by ambulance to Southampton Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

According to Neil Metcalf, who covered the story for BBC Radio Scotland, Mr. Fyfe was an extremely popular man whose death shocked the Aberdeen community. Friends set up a memorial for him on a local news Facebook page called FubarNews.

Mr. Steudte consented to have his blood drawn at Southampton Town police headquarters, as is done in the event of an alcohol-related fatality. According to the grand jury indictment, the results showed his blood-alcohol level to be .08 of 1 percent or higher. A .08 or higher reading triggers a drunken-driving charge in New York State.

Police closed the busy highway, congested with Friday-evening eastbound traffic, for seven hours as detectives, assisted by the district attorney’s vehicular crime unit and a forensic identification and collision reconstruction unit from the state police, reconstructed the sequence of events. According to the indictment, Mr. Steudte ran a red light just before the accident.

He faces three felony charges: one of manslaughter, for recklessly causing the death of Mr. Fyfe, and two of vehicular manslaughter. He also faces two drunken-driving charges and possession of marijuana.

If convicted of the manslaughter charge, he would be sentenced to prison for anywhere from 1 to 15 years.

Long Days on the Fire Line In Orange County

East Hampton and Amagansett firefighters volunteered to head north last week to help fight a 5,000-acre wildfire in Orange County, N.Y., not once but twice, battling unfamiliar terrain to do so. “They fight fires completely differently than we do when we have a brush fire,” the Amagansett chief said.

Nov 21, 2024

Awards for Good Policing in Handgun Scuffle

“It could have gone worse. We’re lucky that I have officers here that weren’t shot,” said Police Chief Jeff Erickson at Friday’s East Hampton Village Board meeting. Chief Erickson was recognizing Sgt. Wayne Gauger and Officers John Clark and Robbie Greene for a traffic stop on Aug. 31 that turned into a scuffle and the eventual confiscation of an illegal gun.

Nov 21, 2024

On the Police Logs 11.21.24

A Three Mile Harbor Drive resident reported an online dating scam on the afternoon of Nov. 16. Somehow, said the 80-year-old man, a person on the dating platform had gotten his phone number and demanded $2,000 from him, threatening to tell his family he was using the site if he did not comply. Police told the man to block the number.

Nov 21, 2024

Head-On Collision on Route 27

A 2-year-old was taken to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital following a head-on collision Saturday afternoon on State Route 27 near Upland Road in Montauk.

Nov 21, 2024

Your support for The East Hampton Star helps us deliver the news, arts, and community information you need. Whether you are an online subscriber, get the paper in the mail, delivered to your door in Manhattan, or are just passing through, every reader counts. We value you for being part of The Star family.

Your subscription to The Star does more than get you great arts, news, sports, and outdoors stories. It makes everything we do possible.