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Fiery Motorcycle Wreck on Napeague

Thu, 07/16/2020 - 12:42
A motorcyclist walked away mostly unhurt after dodging a collision and falling from his Kawasaki, which hit a guardrail and burst into flames.
Doug Kuntz

In a fiery 2 a.m. crash more dramatic than harmful, Matthew Porcelli's motorcycle erupted in flames on Sunday as he was riding east on Montauk Highway near Surf Drive in Amagansett.

Mr. Porcelli, 21, of Commack, told East Hampton Town police he had swerved into the oncoming lane to avoid a collision, lost control, and fell off the 2020 Kawasaki, which collided with a guard rail and burst into flames. The young man got off easy, with road rash to his back but no broken bones. 

Amagansett firefighters extinguished the flames, and an Amagansett Fire Department ambulance took Mr. Porcelli to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital to be checked out. He was released after treatment. 

On the afternoon of July 6, at the Route 27 intersection with Wainscott Northwest Road, Sergio Arnold Lopez, 38, of West Haven, Conn., driving a 2004 Ford Pickup truck, rear-ended Robert Edlund's 2004 Dodge. Neither Mr. Edlund, of Mastic Beach, nor Mr. Lopez required medical attention, though both Mr. Edlund and his passenger, Justin Knaptik, complained of neck pain.

Mouhamadou Gaye of East Hampton, 21, told town police he had fallen asleep at the wheel on Friday morning before running off the road at the intersection of Accabonac Road and Collins Avenue, into some small trees. He was driving an Enterprise Rent-a-Car, which was badly damaged and was towed by V&V Auto.

On the Police Logs 12.18.25

A security guard at Pierson High School in Sag Harbor reported a “suspicious male” wearing a face mask and “riding a bicycle in circles” near the school gym. The young man subsequently told police he was waiting for his friends to get out of school, and said he was wearing a mask “because it’s cold outside today.”

Dec 18, 2025

Father and Son Injured in Crosswalk

Two automobile accidents on Montauk Highway, one in Wainscott and another in Amagansett, resulted in injuries last week, as did a third in Springs.

Dec 18, 2025

On the Police Logs 12.11.25

A caller reported a “suspicious package” near the westbound Jitney Stop on Main Street in the village Saturday, describing it as a suitcase next to a garbage can. When police arrived, an 89-year-old woman standing next to the suitcase informed them that it was hers.

Dec 11, 2025

E-Biker Injured in Collision

A 70-year-old man from the Bronx was seriously injured in an e-bike accident in Montauk late Tuesday afternoon.

Dec 11, 2025

 

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