Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
A 22-year-old Brooklyn man died early Monday morning after his vehicle struck multiple trees and overturned on the Heckscher State Parkway in East Islip, according to the New York State Police. The driver, identified as Muhammad Qamar of Brooklyn, was pronounced dead at the scene following what troopers described as a single-vehicle crash in the roadway’s eastbound lanes.
Newsday reported that New York State Police troopers were dispatched to the scene at approximately 5:43 a.m. on Monday, January 6, 2026. The crash took place near the location where Heckscher State Parkway transitions in name to the Southern State Parkway — a junction in the eastern stretch of East Islip that serves as a key connector between the two parkway segments. Qamar was traveling eastbound at the time of the incident.
According to state police spokesperson Trooper Brittany Burton, Qamar’s vehicle left the roadway and struck several trees along the parkway before ultimately overturning. The sequence of events — losing control, striking multiple trees, and rolling over — is consistent with high-speed single-vehicle crashes, a pattern that Burton’s preliminary assessment appeared to support. “Speed appears to be the primary factor,” Burton told Newsday in a text message. Qamar was pronounced dead at the scene, making this a fatal outcome with no opportunity for hospital intervention.
No passengers or other vehicles were reported to be involved in the crash, and Newsday noted that additional information about the crash was not immediately available as of Monday afternoon. The report does not mention any other injuries or bystanders.
When Newsday reached out to Qamar’s family late Monday, a woman who identified herself over the phone as a relative said the family did not want to comment on his death. No further statements from the family or any witnesses have been made public as of the time of reporting.
Location & Road Context
The crash took place on the Heckscher State Parkway in East Islip, a scenic parkway on Long Island’s South Shore that runs southward from the Southern State Parkway into Heckscher State Park along the Great South Bay. The specific location — near where the Heckscher State Parkway transitions into the Southern State Parkway — sits at the northern terminus of the Heckscher alignment, a stretch where speed and limited lighting in the pre-dawn hours can present elevated risks. The roadway, while generally lightly trafficked in the early morning, is lined by trees along significant portions of its length, offering little margin for error for drivers who lose control at highway speeds. The crash occurred well before sunrise, at 5:43 a.m. in early January, meaning visibility conditions were likely poor at the time of the incident.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
The crash remains under active investigation by the New York State Police, according to Trooper Brittany Burton. At this stage, no charges have been filed and no arrests have been made, as the inquiry is focused on determining the full circumstances of the single-vehicle incident. Burton confirmed to Newsday that speed appears to be the primary factor, though that assessment is preliminary and subject to change as the investigation proceeds. No toxicology results, mechanical failure findings, or additional investigative details have been released by state police as of Monday afternoon. Anyone with information about the crash is encouraged to contact the New York State Police.
Broader Impact
A Newsday investigation previously found that a traffic crash causing death, injury, or significant property damage occurs on Long Island on average every seven minutes, and that more than 2,100 people were killed in traffic crashes on Long Island between 2014 and 2023, with more than 16,000 seriously injured during that same period. The death of Muhammad Qamar on Heckscher State Parkway adds to that toll, underscoring a pattern state police and traffic safety advocates have long flagged: speed-related single-vehicle crashes, particularly in pre-dawn hours on parkways lined with fixed hazards like trees, consistently account for a disproportionate share of Long Island’s fatal accidents. Drivers on the Heckscher and Southern State Parkway are urged to observe posted speed limits at all hours, and especially during overnight and early morning hours when reduced visibility compounds the dangers of excessive speed.