Construction Worker Killed, Two Injured in Nesconset Work Zone Crash

A construction worker died and two others were hurt Monday after a vehicle slammed into a paving crew at a work site in Nesconset, Suffolk County police said.

The incident took place at the corner of Townline Road and Terry Road at about 6:43 a.m. Three workers were struck while preparing to start the day's work on a county-contracted paving project, police said. One man was pronounced dead at Stony Brook University Hospital. A second sustained serious injuries and was taken to the same hospital, and the third suffered wounds that were not life-threatening.

Authorities took the vehicle's driver into custody. As of Monday morning, no charges had been filed.

Kevin DaPonte, the environmental health and safety director for Rosemar, the East Moriches firm contracted to carry out the paving work, said the crew had not yet started their tasks when they were struck.

"They were just getting their stuff ready to walk down the road," DaPonte said. "The car came out of nowhere and hit them on the sidewalk."

DaPonte described the victim as a longtime member of the company's workforce. "He was a great employee. He will be missed," he said. He added that surviving crew members were visibly shaken but were cooperating with detectives on scene.

Townline Road was shut down between Terry Road and Lantern Lane for several hours while crime scene investigators processed the area. Police tape cordoned off the Terry Road Shopping Center parking lot, where scattered debris, a broken hubcap and a construction hard hat were visible on the ground.

The region's construction industry trade group responded by calling for stronger worker protections. Marc Herbst, executive director of the Long Island Contractors' Association, issued a statement saying road workers are among the most exposed on Long Island's roads and calling for broader speed-camera coverage in work zones and "real consequences for drivers who put crews at risk."

So far in 2025, 33 work zone intrusions on Long Island state roads have injured five state Department of Transportation workers. Across New York, the state's automated work zone speed-enforcement program has issued 600,000 notices of violation over its first three years, with more than 40 percent of first-year citations originating in Nassau and Suffolk counties.