What Happened
A Mercedes-Benz sedan driven by Matthew Troche, 19, of Amityville crashed through the front of a Deer Park home at approximately 4:45 a.m. Sunday, August 30, 2026, after Troche ran a stop sign at the T-intersection of Cayuga Avenue and Nicolls Road, Suffolk County Police said in a news release.
Troche was southbound on Cayuga Avenue when he failed to stop at the intersection’s dead end, according to police. The Mercedes left the roadway, crossed the lawn, climbed the front steps, and punched through the front door and an exterior wall before coming to rest atop a leather couch inside the living room. The car was entirely within the living room when the Deer Park Fire Department and Suffolk County police arrived, police said.
No occupants of the home were injured. Troche was removed from the vehicle and transported to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.
Newsday reported that police discovered Troche in possession of a handgun and a high-capacity magazine. After his release from Good Samaritan, he was arrested and charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Suffolk County Police held Troche overnight at the Third Precinct in Bay Shore. He was scheduled for arraignment at First District Court in Central Islip on Monday, August 31. As of Sunday afternoon, Newsday reported that the state courts website had not listed Troche’s case or a defense attorney.
Location & Road Context
Cayuga Avenue runs north-south and dead-ends into Nicolls Road, a major Suffolk County north-south arterial that carries heavy through traffic between Brentwood and Deer Park. A T-intersection stop sign governs southbound Cayuga Avenue traffic before it reaches Nicolls Road. The home sits directly in the path of any vehicle that fails to stop at that sign.
Deer Park has seen multiple serious vehicle crashes in recent weeks. A wrong-way hit-and-run on August 28 hospitalized five people, and a separate wrong-way crash the same day injured an elderly couple and three others. In August 2026, a driver was sentenced in the fatal Deer Park nail salon crash on those same Nicolls Road corridors.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Troche faces three charges: driving while ability impaired by drugs under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, based on the handgun and high-capacity magazine recovered at the scene. Suffolk County Police did not specify in their release what substance allegedly impaired Troche.
Arraignment was set for First District Court in Central Islip on Monday, August 31. No defense attorney had appeared in the state courts system as of Sunday afternoon, per Newsday.
Broader Impact
Criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree in New York carries a mandatory minimum of 3.5 years in state prison under Penal Law § 265.03, with a maximum of 15 years. That charge, stacked alongside the DWAI-drugs count, means Troche’s bail posture and plea options at Monday’s arraignment will hinge substantially on the weapons counts rather than the traffic charge alone.