Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
The chairwoman of Riverhead’s Republican Party Committee was arrested on DWI charges after allegedly driving a Honda Fit into five parked vehicles and causing extensive property damage along a mile-and-a-half corridor of Riverhead streets on the evening of Sunday, May 24, 2026, according to Newsday, which reviewed police reports and town justice court records.
Tammy Robinkoff, 60, of Further Lane in Riverhead, first sideswiped a parked Nissan sedan on West Main Street at approximately 7:16 p.m., then continued driving east rather than stopping, according to police reports. She then struck a parked pickup truck on Sunrise Avenue and again continued east without stopping. The two initial collisions occurred within the roughly 1.5-mile stretch that begins at 131 West Main Street and ends at Robinkoff’s own home on Further Lane, Newsday reported.
The sequence of incidents intensified after Robinkoff turned onto Further Lane. According to police and justice court reports, she struck the rear passenger side of a parked Nissan, then reversed — striking and damaging a second vehicle, a basketball hoop, a garage, concrete stairs, and a telephone pole in the process. Ring camera footage obtained by Newsday shows the Honda Fit bringing a basketball hoop to the ground before screeching into reverse and knocking over flower pots, then driving forward across a lawn and clipping a utility pole before heading east. Robinkoff did not stop at that location either, according to the reports.
She then continued east and struck a parked Ford SUV on its driver’s side, approximately 75 feet west of Daly Drive, before ultimately reaching her residence. In total, Robinkoff is accused of striking five parked vehicles — a Nissan sedan, a pickup truck, two additional vehicles on Further Lane, and a Ford SUV — along with causing damage to a basketball hoop, a garage, concrete stairs, flower pots, and a telephone pole, all while allegedly driving under the influence.
Robinkoff was arrested and taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center for evaluation, according to a charging document. In a statement to police, she acknowledged drinking at a VFW hall prior to driving. “I had about six Coors Light at the VFW,” Robinkoff told police, according to a police officer’s statement contained in court documents reviewed by Newsday. She told officers she had been at the VFW for “about two hours, three hours.” She was charged with driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident.
Further Lane resident Keri Smeraldi, 37, described a chaotic and frightening scene unfolding on her block. “The window was open just a little bit, and we heard something go smack,” Smeraldi said in a phone interview with Newsday. Frantic voices can be heard in the Ring camera video yelling “Get out of the way!” and “Call the cops!” as the car careened across the lawn. One of the family’s vehicles was totaled in the incident — a loss that hit particularly hard for her 17-year-old son, who had recently obtained his driver’s license. “He doesn’t have a car; he played basketball every day,” Smeraldi said. The dreary weather that Sunday had kept her two children inside, which Smeraldi credits as a stroke of luck. “It was very lucky. I’m very thankful nobody was hurt,” she said, calling it “the scariest thing.” She said she did not know Robinkoff personally.
Location & Road Context
The incident played out along a roughly 1.5-mile east-west corridor in Riverhead, beginning at 131 West Main Street — a heavily traveled commercial artery through the town center — and continuing through the residential streets of Sunrise Avenue and Further Lane, ending near Daly Drive. The stretch connects Riverhead’s downtown business district to quieter, residential side streets, and the Sunday evening timing meant light traffic but real proximity to pedestrians and residents near their homes. Further Lane, where Robinkoff resides and where the most serious property damage occurred, is a neighborhood street that would typically see children and foot traffic on a spring evening.
Riverhead has seen several serious road incidents in recent months. In January 2026, a child was among three people injured in a school bus and transit bus crash in Riverhead, and a property damage accident was reported on Quogue-Riverhead Road as recently as May 22, 2026, just two days before this incident.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Robinkoff was charged with driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident and was arraigned in Riverhead Town Justice Court, according to court records reviewed by Newsday. Her attorney, Steven Losquadro — who also serves as counsel to the Suffolk County Republican Committee — confirmed that Robinkoff pleaded not guilty at her arraignment. Robinkoff was scheduled to appear in court the following Wednesday.
In a statement issued to Newsday, Losquadro said: “Chairwoman Tammy Robinkoff will focus on her well-being and medical conditions, some of which surely contributed to this incident. In addition to not commenting further on this personal legal matter, Mrs. Robinkoff appreciates the expressions of concern and support offered by many to not only herself, but her family.” Riverhead Police Chief Ed Frost did not respond to a request for comment from Newsday.
Beyond her role in the Republican Party, Robinkoff holds a public-sector position: she earned $96,974 in 2024 as an election forms processor for the Suffolk County Board of Elections, according to county payroll records cited by Newsday. She was reelected to a two-year term as chairwoman of the Riverhead Town Republican Committee in June 2024.
Broader Impact
In New York State, a first-offense DWI conviction under Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1192.3 carries penalties that can include up to one year in jail, fines of $500 to $1,000, and mandatory license revocation — with additional charges for leaving the scene of a property damage accident potentially compounding the legal exposure Robinkoff faces. The leaving-the-scene charge is especially notable here given the documented pattern of continuing to drive after each successive collision across multiple blocks, a fact captured in part by residential Ring camera footage that has already been shared with investigators. Long Island has seen a consistent pattern of DWI arrests in recent months, underscoring the ongoing challenge local law enforcement faces in deterring impaired driving on residential streets.