What Happened
An 85-year-old Hauppauge man was killed in a single-vehicle crash on Hawkins Avenue in Lake Ronkonkoma on the morning of October 2, 2026, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.
Police said the man was driving a 2003 Mitsubishi truck northbound on Hawkins Avenue when he apparently suffered a medical emergency, causing the vehicle to leave the roadway and strike a tree in front of 299 Hawkins Ave. at 7:37 a.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene by a physician assistant from the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner. The Mitsubishi was impounded for a safety check.
Patch (Sachem) reported that Hawkins Avenue was closed between Lakewood Avenue and Church Street following the crash.
Road and Transit Impact
According to Patch (Sachem), Hawkins Avenue was closed between Lakewood Avenue and Church Street.
On This Corridor / Local Crash Record
Federal FARS fatal-crash records (2010–2024) place 2 fatal crashes on or at Hawkins Avenue in Lake Ronkonkoma, in 2011 and 2014, based on NHTSA’s recorded road and cross street within the area’s 2020 Census boundaries; those figures are counts only and say nothing about the cause of this crash. New York State DMV crash data show the Town of Brookhaven, which includes Lake Ronkonkoma, recorded 11,519 reported crashes in 2024; of the town’s 44,155 reported crashes from 2021 through 2024, 172 were fatal.
What Officials Have Said Next
Suffolk County Police Fourth Squad detectives are asking anyone with information about the crash to contact the Fourth Squad at 631-854-8452.
What we don’t know yet: the specific nature of the medical emergency the driver suffered, and the outcome of the safety check on the impounded vehicle.
Sources
- Suffolk County Police Department (official record)
- Patch
- Suffolk County Police Department (official record)