What Happened
Michael Schmid, an Oakdale father of three, was ejected from his vehicle after a single-car crash on southbound Riverview Court at 1:22 p.m. on Thursday, August 21, 2026, police said. Schmid was driving a 2021 Ram when he lost control, struck several trees, and was thrown from the car. He was rushed to South Shore University Hospital.
According to a Daily Voice report filed August 28, Schmid faces multiple surgeries. “He has suffered multiple injuries and will need multiple surgeries as he begins what we know will be a long and challenging recovery,” GoFundMe organizer Evangeline Dowd wrote. Police confirmed the ejection and the sequence of events — loss of control, tree strikes, ejection — but no cause of the crash had been publicly identified as of Friday afternoon.
Schmid’s wife, Kelly, and their three children, Michael, Kennedy, and Leighton, were at his side, Dowd wrote in the fundraiser. The family is from Oakdale. Dowd described the household facing immediate financial pressure alongside the medical crisis: “With Michael expected to be out of work for a while, this family is now facing the emotional weight of his injuries and the growing stress of everyday expenses.”
The GoFundMe, titled “Support Michael Schmid and Family,” was launched on Wednesday, August 26 — five days after the crash. By Friday afternoon, August 28, the campaign had collected more than $22,000 of its $28,000 goal, per the Daily Voice. Dowd stated that funds will go toward medical bills and living expenses so Kelly Schmid and the children can focus on Michael’s recovery.
Location & Road Context
Riverview Court is a residential road in Oakdale, a hamlet in the Town of Islip in southern Suffolk County. The crash site is near South Shore University Hospital, the facility where Schmid was treated, on Montauk Highway in Bay Shore — roughly three miles northwest of Oakdale. Riverview Court runs through a neighborhood characterized by residential setbacks and tree lines close to the road edge, consistent with the vehicle striking multiple trees after leaving the travel lane.
For real-time conditions on surrounding Suffolk County roads, see the Long Island Traffic road tracker.
Broader Impact
Single-vehicle ejections carry a high fatality and severe-injury rate because occupant separation from the vehicle removes crash-energy protection. Schmid’s survival after striking multiple trees and being ejected points to the extent of the trauma his medical team is managing. South Shore University Hospital, a Northwell Health facility, runs a Level II trauma center equipped for the type of multi-system injuries an ejection crash typically produces.