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Driver Not Paying Attention

Thu, 08/27/2020 - 08:47

Deborah Metrick of New York City, 46, was stopped in traffic on Stephen Hand's Path near Bull Path last Thursday afternoon when a 2011 Ford pickup rear-ended her brand-new BMW. The driver, 34, Michael Collins of Southampton, told East Hampton Town police he'd been "looking down at a paper" and did not see Ms. Metrick, who complained of back pain but refused medical help.

John Hulse of East Moriches, 22, told police he "started panicking" after hitting the passenger side of a 2020 Nissan belonging to Jean Graham, 62, of Wantagh, late Friday night at the intersection of South Euclid Avenue and South Edgemere Street in Montauk. Mr. Hulse left the scene of the crash, but was later located in the parking lot at 352 West Lake Drive. Town police questioned him at the Montauk substation, where he said that the Nissan had cut in front of him. Ms. Graham said she had pain in her body, but declined treatment.

In Montauk the next morning, Don Mendelson, 67, was coming down Glenmore Avenue and John Panico Jr., 54, down Greenwich Street. At the intersection, Mr. Panico waited at the stop sign but Mr. Mendelson did not, police said. As he turned left, his 2009 Nissan collided with Mr. Panico's 2019 Dodge pickup. Mr. Mendelson, who "presented traveler's insurance," police reported, refused medical attention for head pains.

East Hampton Village police reported a three-car accident on Aug. 18, in front of 13 Woods Lane, beginning when Toshitaka Yonehara, 47, of New York City, driving a 2000 Chevrolet, rear-ended a 2012 Ford van driven by Luis Romero-Romero of Hampton Bays, 46. The van was propelled into a 2002 Toyota with Shaun Williams, 36, of Boston at the wheel. Both the van and the Toyota had been stopped in traffic. The cars were not seriously damaged. Mr. Romero-Romero complained of elbow pain but declined medical attention.

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