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Twenty-one people – including at least four children – have been killed in a string of deadly vehicle crashes across Long Island so far this month, a new report says.

Three of the fatal victims were killed just this past weekend, WCBS-TV reported.

They were identified as Olivia Montgomery, 20, who died in a crash in East Moriches, motorcyclist Gabriel Reyes, 50, who perished in a head-on collision in Brentwood, and driver Christopher W. McGuckin, 54, who succumbed to his injuries after losing control of his car and crashing in Port Jefferson Station, according to local reports. 

Earlier this month, siblings Jeremiah and Hannah Huntley, 10 and 13 respectively, as well as their 60-year-old dad Patrice Huntley, were killed when a motorist – allegedly impaired by drugs – slammed into their ride across from a shopping center, police and prosecutors have said. 

Little Chantel Solomon, 6 – also a member of the family, according to reports – later succumbed to her injuries as well, cops said. 

A blood test revealed that the driver, Michael Deangelo, 32, had both fentanyl and cocaine in his system, according to a criminal complaint. 


  Police at the scene of a fatal crash in West Hempstead, Long Island on August 7, 2023. Paul Mazza Police at the scene of a fatal crash in West Hempstead, Long Island on August 7, 2023. Paul Mazza

  Twenty-one people have died in Long Island crashes so far this month. Paul Mazza Twenty-one people have died in Long Island crashes so far this month. Paul Mazza

“Nothing is going to bring my children or my family back,” said a tearful Tasheba Hamilton-Huntley, the mother of Jeremiah and Hannah, to WCBS. “How is he driving with fentanyl and cocaine in his system at 120 mph in a shopping area?” 

Hours later, 6-year-old Katerine Vanegas-Hernandez was fatally struck by a drunken driver on Hempstead Turnpike near the Westminster Road intersection in West Hempstead, authorities said. 

The driver, Jorge Bonilla Gutierrez, 18 – whose blood alcohol content was twice the legal limit – was charged with second-degree manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, assault and DWI, cops said. 


  The scene of the crash that killed children Jeremiah and Hannah Huntley and their father Patrice Huntley in Nassau County. Paul Mazza The scene of the crash that killed children Jeremiah and Hannah Huntley and their father Patrice Huntley in Nassau County. Paul Mazza

Data compiled by the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research indicates that an average of 19 victims are killed on Long Island streets and roadways each month, according to WCBS.

But that average monthly figure recently jumped 24 percent, beginning in May when two 14-year-old tennis phenoms, Ethan Falkowitz and Drew Hassenbein, were killed in a crash with a wrong-way, drunken pick-up-truck driver, the network reported. 

A traffic light recently went up at an intersection on Woodfield Road in West Hempstead – where many people have been critically or fatally struck, including 12-year-old Thomas Molina who died last October, WCBS reported.


  Jacklyn Smolian and her baby were killed in May during a crash with a school bus in Yaphank. Wayne Carrington Jacklyn Smolian and her baby were killed in May during a crash with a school bus in Yaphank. Wayne Carrington

Nassau County Legislator John Giuffre told reporters that soon after that crash, officials began to look into ways to improve pedestrian safety there. 

“Today begins the first day of addressing safety concerns in this corridor,” Nassau County Legislator William Gaylor told the network.

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