Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
A Long Island father of two is dead after a single-vehicle crash on the eastbound Southern State Parkway near the Newbridge Road exit late on the night of Tuesday, December 16, 2025, according to Hempstead Daily Voice.
New York State Police troopers responded to the scene around 10:30 p.m. The victim was identified as Charles Kenney, who was behind the wheel of a Ram pickup truck traveling eastbound on the parkway when the crash occurred. A preliminary investigation determined that Kenney was traveling at an unsafe speed and was not wearing a seatbelt at the time he lost control of the vehicle, per Hempstead Daily Voice citing New York State Police.
The Ram pickup veered off the roadway and struck the stone wall of the Newbridge Road overpass with significant force. The vehicle ultimately came to rest blocking both the center and right lanes of the eastbound parkway — a dangerous secondary hazard for any motorists approaching the scene in the nighttime hours, according to New York State Police.
Emergency responders transported Kenney to Nassau University Medical Center, where he arrived with serious injuries. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital. As reported by Hempstead Daily Voice, Kenney leaves behind his wife, Michelle, and their two children — a 9-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son.
In the days following the fatal crash, the Kenney family launched a GoFundMe fundraising campaign to help Michelle manage the financial toll of her husband’s sudden death. The campaign describes Charles in deeply personal terms: “Charles was a devoted husband, a loving father, and a cherished member of our family and community. His passing has left an unimaginable void in the lives of those who knew and loved him.” Family members stated the funds raised will go toward funeral and memorial expenses, daily living costs, and providing long-term stability for the two children as they navigate the loss of their father. “No amount can ever replace the loss of a husband and father,” the fundraiser reads. “But the kindness, prayers, and generosity shown mean more than words can express.”
Location & Road Context
The crash took place on the eastbound Southern State Parkway near the Newbridge Road exit in the Hempstead area of Nassau County — one of Long Island’s most heavily traveled commuter corridors, running east-west through the heart of Nassau and into western Suffolk County. The Newbridge Road overpass, whose stone wall bore the direct impact of Kenney’s Ram pickup, is a fixed infrastructure feature that offers little to no energy absorption in a high-speed collision.
Our database records 446 incidents on the Southern State Parkway, making it one of the most incident-prone roadways on Long Island. Recent activity on the corridor includes crashes as recently as May 24 and May 25, 2026, underscoring that this stretch of roadway continues to demand heightened driver attention — particularly at night and at elevated speeds.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
As of the date of reporting, New York State Police described their findings as the result of a preliminary investigation. No charges had been announced in connection with the crash, as Kenney himself was the sole occupant and victim of the single-vehicle collision. The investigation into the precise circumstances of the crash — including speed and any other contributing factors — remained active. State Police have not publicly indicated whether any additional findings are expected to alter the preliminary determination that unsafe speed and the absence of a seatbelt were primary contributing factors.
Broader Impact
New York State law requires all vehicle occupants to wear seatbelts, and research consistently shows that seatbelt use dramatically reduces fatality risk in high-speed crashes involving fixed objects such as the Newbridge Road overpass wall. In this case, New York State Police specifically cited the absence of a seatbelt as a contributing factor in Kenney’s death — a detail that underscores the life-or-death consequences of that single choice at highway speeds at night. For the Kenney family — a widow and two school-age children, ages 9 and 13 — the human cost of this crash extends far beyond the Southern State Parkway itself.