Holbrook, NY — Crash Data, Roads, History & Law
Holbrook is an unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Islip, Suffolk County, New York, with 26,487 residents at the 2020 Census. Federal crash records show 22 fatal crashes that killed 25 people within its boundaries from 2010 through 2024 — 6 of them on foot. Veterans Memorial Highway (NY 454) accounted for more of those deaths (9) than any other road. Residents who commute travel an average of 34.1 minutes each way.
Long Island Town Fact Book · Updated · Sources & method
Holbrook at a glance
- Status
- Hamlet (unincorporated; census-designated place)
- Towns
- Islip (84% of area), Brookhaven (16% of area)
- County
- Suffolk County
- Population (2020 Census)
- 26,487[C]
- Housing units (2020)
- 9,714
- Land area
- 6.88 sq mi
- Density
- 3,848 people per sq mi
- Average commute
- 34.1 minutes[B]
- Traffic deaths, 2010–2024
- 25[A]
- ZIP Code
- 11741
- Legal status
- Unincorporated hamlet of the Town of Islip; no village government, no town police force and no town justice court[10][12]
- Prior written notice law
- Town of Islip Code § 47A-3 on the Islip side; Town of Brookhaven Code § 84-1 on the Brookhaven side[10][11]
- Courts
- Suffolk County District Court — Fifth District (Islip); civil and Islip town-ordinance matters are heard at the Ronkonkoma courthouse, criminal matters at Central Islip[12][13]
- Fire department
- Holbrook Fire Department, serving the community since 1927; mailing address in Holbrook, N.Y. 11741[18]
- School district
- Sachem Central School District, formed on April 21, 1955 from the Holbrook, Lake Ronkonkoma and Farmingville/Holtsville districts[17]
- Main county road
- CR 19 — Patchogue Holbrook Road / Waverly Avenue, running north from West Main Street to Portion Road (CR 16)[6]
- Census geography
- Holbrook CDP · GEOID 3635056 · GNIS 2389939
- Coordinates
- 40.7944°N, 73.0700°W
Hamlets in New York have no legal boundary or government of their own. Figures here use the Census Bureau's census-designated place, the standard statistical outline for the community; local usage of the name can be wider or narrower.
Fatal crashes in Holbrook, 2010–2024
From January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2024, 25 people died in 22 crashes on public roads inside Holbrook, according to the federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System.[A] Pedestrians account for 6 of those deaths (24%). The deadliest year was 2023, with 6 deaths.
- Fatal crashes
- 22
- People killed
- 25
- Pedestrians
- 6
- Bicyclists
- 0
- Motorcyclists
- 4
- Vehicle occupants
- 15
2024 figures come from NHTSA's Annual Report File and may be revised.
View the chart as a table
| Year | Fatal crashes | Deaths |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 3 | 3 |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | 2 | 2 |
| 2013 | 1 | 1 |
| 2014 | 1 | 1 |
| 2015 | 1 | 2 |
| 2016 | 1 | 1 |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1 | 1 |
| 2019 | 2 | 2 |
| 2020 | 2 | 2 |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 4 | 4 |
| 2023 | 4 | 6 |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 |
Roads where people died
| Road | Crashes | Deaths |
|---|---|---|
| Veterans Memorial Highway (NY 454) | 7 | 9 |
| Sunrise Highway (NY 27) | 3 | 3 |
| Nicolls Road (CR 97) | 3 | 3 |
| Union Ave | 2 | 3 |
| Coates Ave | 2 | 2 |
| County Route 19 | 2 | 2 |
| Patchogue Holbrook Rd (CR 19) | 1 | 1 |
| County Route 454 | 1 | 1 |
Road names as recorded by police and normalised to common Long Island names.
When and where
- Of the 22 crashes with a recorded time, 11 happened between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., 3 between 4 and 8 p.m., 7 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and 1 between 6 and 10 a.m.
- 55% happened in darkness.
- 0 of the 25 deaths were on expressways or parkways; 25 were on arterials and local streets.
- 2 crashes killed more than one person.
- In at least 4 crashes, a driver had a reported blood-alcohol concentration of .08 or higher. This counts known test results only; NHTSA's official alcohol estimates, which impute untested drivers, are higher.
Who owns the roads where they happened (2015–2024)
FARS has recorded the owner of the roadway since 2015. Of the 15 fatal crashes in Holbrook since then:
- State highways 7 (47%)
- Town roads 4 (27%)
- County roads 4 (27%)
Ownership matters in New York because claims against a county, town, city or village generally require a notice of claim within 90 days (General Municipal Law § 50-e), while claims against the State are brought in the Court of Claims under Court of Claims Act § 10. This is general information, not legal advice.
Rate: 6.3 traffic deaths per 100,000 residents per year, against 9.1 for Suffolk County. This is a resident-based rate, not a measure of how risky the roads are to drive: crashes are counted where they happen, not where the people involved live, so a small community crossed by a major highway shows a high rate.
The 15 most recent fatal crashes
| Date | Time | Road | Deaths | Who died | Light |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 p.m. | Coates Ave | 1 | Pedestrian | dark | |
| 1 p.m. | Veterans Memorial Highway (NY 454) at Grundy Ave | 1 | Vehicle occupant | daylight | |
| 8 p.m. | Patchogue Holbrook Rd (CR 19) | 1 | Pedestrian | dark | |
| 1 p.m. | Veterans Memorial Highway (NY 454) at Coates Ave | 3 | Motorcyclist, 2 vehicle occupants | daylight | |
| 5 a.m. | Union Ave at Laurel St | 1 | Vehicle occupant | dark | |
| 10 p.m. | Veterans Memorial Highway (NY 454) at Grundy Ave | 1 | Pedestrian | dark | |
| 8 a.m. | Veterans Memorial Highway (NY 454) at Broadway Ave | 1 | Vehicle occupant | daylight | |
| 1 p.m. | Sunrise Highway (NY 27) | 1 | Vehicle occupant | daylight | |
| 1 p.m. | Nicolls Road (CR 97) | 1 | Vehicle occupant | daylight | |
| 5 p.m. | Nicolls Road (CR 97) at Colin Dr | 1 | Vehicle occupant | daylight | |
| 8 p.m. | Nicolls Road (CR 97) | 1 | Vehicle occupant | daylight | |
| 8 p.m. | Veterans Memorial Highway (NY 454) | 1 | Pedestrian | dark | |
| 12 a.m. | Veterans Memorial Highway (NY 454) | 1 | Motorcyclist | dark | |
| 12 p.m. | Coates Ave at Leonard St | 1 | Motorcyclist | daylight | |
| 3 a.m. | Union Ave at Maple Ave | 2 | 2 vehicle occupants | dark |
FARS contains no names or personal identifiers. * 2024 records are preliminary. Download all 22 records (CSV) · How this was compiled
Recent Holbrook Incident Reports
Man, 26, of Selden Killed in Single-Vehicle Crash on Express Drive South in Holbrook
Man, 26, of Selden Killed in Single-Vehicle Crash on Express Drive. September 9, 2026.
LIE Westbound Off-Ramp at Exit 60 in Holbrook Scheduled for Overnight Closure
The New York State Department of Transportation has announced an overnight closure of the Long Island Expressway westbound off-ramp at Exit 60 at Ronkonkoma Avenue in Holbrook, NY, from 10 p.m. Tuesday to 5 a.m. Wednesday for highway maintenance, weather permitting.
Bertie Simeon of Huntington Station Charged in Drugged-Driving Crash That Hospitalized Motorcyclist on Nicolls Road in Holbrook
Bertie Simeon of Huntington Station Arrested for Drugged Driving After Crash Injures Motorcyclist on Nicolls Road in Holbrook
Bronx Man Airlifted After Motorcycle Crash on Hollo Drive in Holbrook
A Bronx man was airlifted after a motorcycle crash on Hollo Dr. Suffolk County. June 20, 2026.
Man, 66, Killed in Hit-and-Run on Broadway Ave. in Holbrook
Man, 66, Killed in Hit-and-Run on Broadway Ave. in Holbrook. Suffolk County. June 12, 2026.
Updated continuously from 511NY, NYSP, NCPD, and SCPD feeds — all Long Island reports.
All reported crashes in the Town of Islip, 2021–2024
New York's crash file codes each crash to a town, city or village — never to a hamlet — so the finest official count that covers Holbrook is for the Town of Islip, which contains it. Police reported 35,004 crashes there from 2021 through 2024 — about 24 a day. 10,222 (29.2%) injured someone and 128 were fatal. [D]
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8,654 | 8,292 | 8,881 | 9,177 | 35,004 |
- Injury crashes
- 10,222
- Fatal crashes
- 128
- Struck a pedestrian
- 422
- Struck a bicyclist
- 335
- Struck a deer
- 91
Counts are crashes, not people. The municipality is entered by the reporting police agency, and coding is less consistent for small villages, so compare places with care.
How Holbrook gets to work
Holbrook commuters travel an average of 34.1 minutes each way, 3 minutes longer than the Suffolk County average (the national average is 26.4 minutes). About 79.2% of workers drive alone, and 3.1% ride the railroad. [B]
| Measure | Holbrook | Suffolk County | New York State | United States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average one-way commute | 34.1 min ±4.2 | 31.1 min | 32.6 min | 26.4 min |
| Commute 60 minutes or longer | 18.3% ±3.1 | 14.1% | 16.8% | 8.6% |
| Commute under 15 minutes | 23.5% ±3 | 22.8% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Drive alone | 79.2% ±4.2 | 72.1% | 48.8% | 68.8% |
| Carpool | 5.5% ±1.7 | 7.5% | 6.3% | 8.5% |
| Commuter rail (LIRR) | 3.1% ±1.1 | 3.2% | 1.8% | 0.3% |
| Bus | 0.2% ±0.2 † | 0.6% | 5.1% | 1.5% |
| Walk | 0.7% ±0.7 † | 1.4% | 5.6% | 2.4% |
| Work from home | 10.1% ±1.6 | 12% | 14.9% | 15.1% |
| Leave home before 6 a.m. | 12.3% ±2.3 | 12% | 10.6% | 14.4% |
| Households with no vehicle | 3.8% ±1.4 | 5.1% | 29.2% | 8.4% |
| Households with three or more vehicles | 25.8% ±2.8 | 28.8% | 11.8% | 21.9% |
Survey estimates for 13,740 workers aged 16 and over; ± values are 90% margins of error. † Small sample — the margin of error is large relative to the estimate, so treat the figure as indicative only. Travel-time rows exclude people who work from home.
Notable facts about Holbrook
- Long Island MacArthur Airport owns land in Holbrook: a 6.1-acre non-contiguous parcel at 1612 Coates Avenue, the subject of a 2016 FAA land-release notice.[5]
- Suffolk County Road 19 is officially "Patchogue Holbrook Road / Waverly Avenue" and runs from West Main Street north to Portion Road.[6]
- Holbrook has had no town justice court since January 1964, when the Suffolk County District Court took over the work of the five western towns' justice courts.[12]
- The Holbrook Fire Department has served the community since 1927.[18]
- Holbrook's school district merged into Sachem on April 21, 1955, together with Lake Ronkonkoma and Farmingville/Holtsville.[17]
History
The 1882 county history lists Holbrook among the principal hamlets that "lie along the line of the Long Island Railroad in this town," alongside Central Islip, Lakeland and part of Waverly.[4]
Religious life came slowly and was shared with neighbouring hamlets: the 1882 history notes that the undenominational chapel built at Selden in 1857 "since 1863 has had connection with Holbrook most of the time."[21]
In the twentieth century Holbrook's institutions merged outward rather than incorporating inward. The Sachem Central School District records that "throughout the 1920s children in the Holbrook community were attending the Union Avenue School," and that "On April 21, 1955, citizens from Farmingville/Holtsville, Holbrook, and Lake Ronkonkoma school districts voted to form a central school district, later named Sachem" — a merger the district attributes to "the rapid population growth in Brookhaven and Islip Towns."[17] The Holbrook Fire Department says it "has been serving our neighbors since 1927."[18]
How the roads got here
Holbrook sits between two state highways and is stitched to them by a county road. To the south is NY 27, which the New York State Department of Transportation's touring-route book describes running "on Sunrise Highway to Valley Stream, Lynbrook, Rockville Centre, Freeport, Massapequa Park, North Babylon, Great River, North Patchogue."[8] To the north is I-495, the Long Island Expressway, described as running from the "Queens-Midtown Tunnel on Long Island Expressway" east to Riverhead.[9]
The connector is Suffolk County Road 19, listed by the county's Department of Public Works as "Patchogue Holbrook Road / Waverly Avenue" and running "W Main St to CR 16, Portion Rd" — the road that carries the hamlet's name and links the Patchogue area northward across the Expressway corridor to Portion Road.[6] The western edge of the hamlet is served by CR 93, "Lakeland Avenue / Ocean Avenue / Rosevale Avenue," which runs from the Sunrise Highway eastbound service road north to Portion Road; the state court system's directions to the nearby Ronkonkoma courthouse confirm that Sunrise Highway Exit 49 is the Lakeland Avenue/CR 93 interchange.[7][13]
Holbrook's roads also carry a piece of airport infrastructure. In 2016 the Federal Aviation Administration published notice of a request to release "a 6.1 acre airport owned parcel, not contiguous with the airport, located at 1612 Coates Avenue, Holbrook," owned by Long Island MacArthur Airport in neighbouring Ronkonkoma — evidence that the town-owned airport holds federally obligated land inside this hamlet.[5]
Law and legal history
Holbrook has no court, no police department and no local legislature of its own; its legal identity is defined by which town line a given property falls on. On the Islip side, a claim against the town over a defective road, sidewalk, crosswalk, street marking, traffic sign, signal or tree is barred by Town of Islip Code § 47A-3, "Liability of Town," unless written notice of the condition "was actually given to the Town Clerk or Commissioner of Public Works and there was a failure or neglect within a reasonable time" to repair it.[10] On the Brookhaven side, Town Code § 84-1 provides that "No civil action shall be commenced against the Town of Brookhaven or the Superintendent of Highways for damages or injuries to persons" over a defective highway, street, bridge, culvert, crosswalk or pedestrian walkway without prior written notice identifying the defect with particularity, served by a person with firsthand knowledge on the Town Clerk or Superintendent of Highways.[11] The two laws name different officers and impose different service requirements, so the first question in a Holbrook sidewalk or pothole case is which town owns the pavement.[10][11]
Criminal, civil and ordinance cases go to the Suffolk County District Court. The court's own history records that it "became operational in January 1964," replacing the town justice courts of the five western towns under the Uniform District Court Act, and that "Fifth District Court encompasses the town of Islip" while "Sixth District Court encompasses the town of Brookhaven."[12] Islip-side civil, small-claims, landlord-tenant and town-ordinance matters are heard at the Ronkonkoma courthouse, "3105 Veteran's Memorial Highway," (631) 381-6000; Brookhaven town-ordinance calendars are called at the "Suffolk County Sixth District Court 150 West Main Street Patchogue NY 11772."[13][14] There is no Islip town justice court to hear a Holbrook case; the Uniform District Court Act abolished it in 1964.[12]
Government, courts and policing
Policing is by the Suffolk County Police Department. Its Fifth Precinct "renders patrol and other police service to the southern portion of Brookhaven Town, the eastern portion of Islip Town, and the incorporated villages of Patchogue and Bellport," a description that covers the part of Islip in which Holbrook lies; the department lists that precinct's front desk at "5th Precinct 125 Waverly Ave, Patchogue" with the number 631-854-8500.[15][16]
Fire and emergency medical service is provided by the Holbrook Fire Department, a community department whose own site gives its location as "Holbrook, N.Y. 11741" and says it has served since 1927.[18] Public schools are run by the Sachem Central School District, which the district describes as "the second largest suburban school district in New York State."[17]
Holbrook timeline
- Selden chapel linked to Holbrook. An 1882 history records that the undenominational chapel at Selden, built in 1857, "since 1863 has had connection with Holbrook most of the time."[21]
- Holbrook Fire Department. The department states it has been serving the community since 1927.[18]
- Sachem centralization. Holbrook's school district voted with Lake Ronkonkoma and Farmingville/Holtsville to centralize into the district later named Sachem.[17]
- FAA land-release notice. The FAA invited comment on releasing a 6.1-acre airport-owned parcel at 1612 Coates Avenue in Holbrook from its airport obligations.[5]
Major roads in Holbrook
| Road | Route | Maintained by | In Holbrook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunrise Highway [8][13] | NY 27 | New York State | runs along the south of the hamlet; Exit 49 is the Lakeland Avenue (CR 93) interchange |
| Long Island Expressway [9] | I-495 | New York State | runs along the north of the hamlet |
| Patchogue Holbrook Road / Waverly Avenue [6] | CR 19 | Suffolk County | principal north-south county road through the hamlet, from West Main Street to Portion Road |
| Lakeland Avenue / Ocean Avenue / Rosevale Avenue [7] | CR 93 | Suffolk County | county arterial along the hamlet's western side, from Sunrise Highway to Portion Road |
Emergency Resources
Hospitals
- NYU Langone Hospital—Suffolk (formerly Long Island Community Hospital) — 101 Hospital Road, Patchogue, NY 11772 — 631-654-7100 (306-bed hospital; the state trauma list gives its address as East Patchogue and a Level II adult designation.)
- Stony Brook University Medical Center — 101 Nicolls Rd, Stony Brook, NY 11794 (Level I adult and Level I pediatric trauma center per the New York State Department of Health.)
- Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center — 1000 Montauk Highway, West Islip, NY 11795 (Level I adult, Level II pediatric trauma center per the state list.)
Police
- Suffolk County Police Department — Fifth Precinct — 125 Waverly Ave, Patchogue, NY 11772 — 631-854-8500 (Covers southern Brookhaven and eastern Islip in the department's own words; no SCPD page names Holbrook specifically.)
Courts
- Suffolk County District Court — Ronkonkoma Courthouse (First District civil; Fifth District) — 3105 Veterans Memorial Highway, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779 — (631) 381-6000 (Civil, small claims, landlord-tenant and Islip town-ordinance matters — the courthouse for the Islip side of Holbrook.)
- Suffolk County District Court — Cohalan Court Complex — 400 Carleton Avenue, Central Islip, NY 11722 (Criminal and traffic division for the five western towns of Suffolk County.)
- Suffolk County District Court — Sixth District (Patchogue) — 150 West Main Street, Patchogue, NY 11772 (Brookhaven Town Ordinance calendars, for the Brookhaven side.)
Local Driver Services in Holbrook
Practical resources for Holbrook drivers — tire shops, gas prices, and live traffic conditions.
Safety Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do after a car accident in Holbrook, NY?
Call 911 immediately. SCPD's 5th Precinct will respond. Document the scene with photos and collect witness information. Exchange insurance details with all parties. File a police report and notify your insurance company under New York's no-fault law.
Which roads are most dangerous in Holbrook?
The LIE through Holbrook carries high-speed traffic and sees frequent rear-end and multi-vehicle collisions. Sunrise Highway's commercial corridor through the hamlet has numerous driveway conflicts. Veterans Memorial Highway east of the LIE interchange handles heavy traffic with limited signalization.
Where is the nearest hospital to Holbrook?
Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue is the closest emergency facility, approximately ten minutes east. Stony Brook University Hospital, the region's Level I trauma center, is accessible via the LIE heading west and provides the highest level of emergency care.
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Data: machine-readable fact sheet (JSON) · fatal-crash records (CSV) · methodology and limits
References
Datasets
- [A] National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2010–2024 national files. Retrieved September 17, 2026.Crashes on public trafficways in which a person died within 30 days. No personal identifiers. Placed by reported coordinates into 2020 Census boundaries.
- [B] U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-Year Estimates, tables B08303, B08013, B08301, B08302, B08201, B19013, B01002. Retrieved September 17, 2026.Survey estimates with 90% margins of error. lowReliability = coefficient of variation above 30%.
- [C] U.S. Census Bureau, TIGERweb — 2020 Census tabulation geography (POP100, HU100, AREALAND). Retrieved September 17, 2026.
- [D] New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, Motor Vehicle Crashes — Case Information: Four Year Window. Retrieved September 17, 2026.Police-reported crashes coded to a town, city or village by the reporting agency. Hamlets are not coded; hamlet pages show the parent town.
Sources for history, roads and law
- [4] W. W. Munsell & Co., via Internet Archive. History of Suffolk County, New York (Town of Islip: hamlets along the railroad) (1882). Book.
- [5] Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Register (govinfo). Notice of Intent To Rule on Request for a Land Release ... Near the Long Island Macarthur Airport, New York (2016). Government record.
- [6] Suffolk County Department of Public Works. Suffolk County Roads List (CR 19) (2020). Government record.
- [7] Suffolk County Department of Public Works. Suffolk County Roads List (CR 93) (2020). Government record.
- [8] New York State Department of Transportation. Official Description of Highway Touring Routes ... (NY 27) (2017). Government record.
- [9] New York State Department of Transportation. Official Description of Highway Touring Routes ... (I 495) (2017). Government record.
- [10] Town of Islip / eCode360 (archived). Code of the Town of Islip § 47A-3, Liability of Town (2016). Government record.
- [11] Town of Brookhaven / eCode360 (archived). Code of the Town of Brookhaven § 84-1, Written notice required (2024). Government record.
- [12] New York State Unified Court System (archived). History and Organization of Suffolk District Court (2022). Court decision.
- [13] New York State Unified Court System (archived). Mass Transit & Road Directions, Ronkonkoma Courthouse (2025). Court decision.
- [14] New York State Unified Court System (archived). Brookhaven Town Ordinance — Suffolk County Sixth District Court (2021). Court decision.
- [15] Suffolk County Police Department. Fifth Precinct (2026). Government record.
- [16] Suffolk County Police Department. Phone Directory — Precinct Front Desks (2026). Government record.
- [17] Sachem Central School District. About Us — Sachem Central School District (2026). Government record.
- [18] Holbrook Fire Department. Holbrook Fire Department (home page) (2026). Institution.
- [19] New York State Department of Health. New York State Trauma Centers (Suffolk County rows) (2025). Government record.
- [20] NYU Langone Health. NYU Langone Hospital—Suffolk (2026). Institution.
- [21] W. W. Munsell & Co., via Internet Archive. History of Suffolk County, New York (Selden chapel's connection with Holbrook) (1882). Book.
- [22] New York State Unified Court System (archived). 10th JD — Suffolk County (2024). Court decision.
Sources opened and checked September 17, 2026.