Hole In Windshield Was The Giveaway

A jogger was found dead on the side of a country road in Smithtown Sunday, and it didn’t take long before Suffolk County Police ascertained a vehicle had struck him.

Who committed the crime was a matter of conjecture, however, until alert motorists on the Long Island Expressway noticed something wasn’t right with a black sedan headed east — there was a gaping hole in the passenger side of the front windshield, and the operator of the car was driving erratically.

Police said that Keith Clancy, 32, of Deer Path in Mattituck was driving the vehicle in the eastbound lane on the LIE in Manorville just before 1 PM Sunday and police closed in. After being pulled over and questioned Clancy was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, police said. He was held overnight at the Seventh Precinct for arraignment the following morning.

The pedestrian may well have never known what hit him. Identified by police as Michael McDermott, 37, of Smithtown, police said McDermott was jogging on the shoulder of the southbound lane of Lake Avenue, north of Oak Street, when Clancy, southbound in his 2014 Nissan sedan, struck him at about 12: 21 PM.

McDermott is remembered as a well-liked teacher at Kings Park High School.

Detectives are asking anyone with information on the crash to call the Major Case Unit at 631-852-6555. All calls will be kept confidential.

A melee on a Greenport beach raged out of control for a time Saturday afternoon, and resulted in five arrests, Southold Town Police reported.

The fight allegedly broke out over a parking dispute and seemed to have petered out when police first arrived, but tempers flared again and punches were thrown.

A teen and a 50-year-old man, both from Voorhees, NJ, and a 51-year-old Jackson Heights man were all charged with disorderly conduct, a violation. A 53-year-old Southold man was also charged with disorderly conduct and second-degree harassment, both violations. Police charged one man, Michael Maragopoulos, 44, of Bayside with a misdemeanor and for allegedly obstructing governmental administration. Four others were charged with lesser crimes and released at the scene.

Southold Police charged two motorists with driving while intoxicated. They said William Fitzpatrick Velez of Cutchogue was arrested just before midnight Friday, July 12, for driving while intoxicated after being involved in a collision on Peconic Bay Boulevard in Laurel.

Police said they suspected alcohol was a factor and sobriety tests confirmed their suspicions.

Mario Roche-Ruiz of Greenport was arrested for DWI in Greenport Village on July 6 shorty before 1 AM, after police said they observed him leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash. Police said Roche-Ruiz crossed over a double yellow line and struck another vehicle.

rmurphy@indyeastend.com