Bicyclist Killed On Napeague Stretch Sunday; Investigation Creates Massive Traffic Tie-Up

A bicyclist was killed on Sunday afternoon, July 3, after he was struck by a vehicle while riding on Montauk Highway in Amagansett, near the Lobster Roll restaurant.

Police have identified the bicyclist as 70-year-old Russell Windsor, a part-time resident of Amagansett. The driver of the vehicle that struck him remained at the scene of the accident, and police have said no criminal charges are expected.

The crash and the road closure for the subsequent investigation by police, on a stretch of roadway where there were no available detours, effectively cut off access to and departure from Montauk for much of the afternoon — leaving thousands of motorists stuck for hours in nearly dead-stop traffic, stranding many in the hamlet on the holiday weekend.

The accident occurred shortly after 11 a.m. on Sunday morning, on the Napeague Stretch in eastern Amagansett, in a busy and often chaotic section of roadway where the highway passes the bustling Lobster Roll and Clam Bar restaurants.

East Hampton Town Police say that Windsor was cycling in the eastbound shoulder of Montauk Highway, but he entered the eastbound lane, where he was struck by a minivan.

East Hampton Town Police Detective Sergeant Ryan Hogan said that evidence from the scene and witness accounts indicated that Windsor may have been attempting to cross over to the other side of the highway when he was struck by the a 2011 Toyota Siena minivan.

The driver of the vehicle, whom police identified as Mohammad Rahman of Holbrook, pulled over to the side of the road and remained at the scene to speak to police. He has not been charged and police said in a statement on Sunday evening that there was no evidence of wrongdoing.

Windsor was taken by Amagansett Fire Department ambulance to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The impacts of the tragedy were felt far from the crash scene and well into the early evening as the only road leading to and from Montauk was essentially closed for nearly five hours and traffic tie-ups lasted until after 6 p.m.

When a fatal accident occurs, police investigators must conduct a thorough recreation of the incident and the scene, typically requiring them to close down any nearby traffic lanes for their own safety and to preserve evidence as it lies. The process has led to many traffic jams that pile frustration, anger and economic impact for thousands of people atop the real tragedy suffered by the individuals and families directly impacted by the crash.

On Sunday, the investigation landed in the 1.5-mile stretch of roadway that has no other avenue around it. Officers used one shoulder to try and let some vehicles pass, alternating directions, but on one of the busiest days of the year, the effort did little to ease backups that quickly extended for miles in both directions. And at times, even that faint trickle had to be stanched.

“It was an extremely challenging strategic location to conduct a safe and thorough accident reconstruction investigation,” East Hampton Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo said on Monday. “There was absolutely no way to detour traffic and keep access to and from Montauk, on one of the heaviest traffic days of the year.”

The snarl blocked Hampton Jitney buses from reaching Montauk, leaving some with important departure plans scrambling for alternatives. The sidewalk outside the Hampton Coffee Company became the go-to rallying point for dozens of stranded vacationers with suitcases and bags in tow.

Kenneth Kent and Nalini Penta were scheduled to be on a 1:30 Jitney back to New York City for Kent’s father’s 70th birthday party.

“They said they are not even sending the buses,” Kent said. “The taxi will try to come, but the buses they said no, not until the road is cleared.”

At 1:45 p.m., the Uber app told the couple that a car was available that would carry them into the teeth of the traffic in hopes of getting to Amagansett, which had become the terminus of the Jitney line — for $150 with a two-hour estimated travel time. When informed that others who had been in the traffic for more than two hours already were still more than a mile from the intermittently open shoulder lane, both slumped their shoulders but didn’t close the taxi app.

Eastbound drivers leaving Amagansett, thinking that back roads would get them around the cause of the traffic, quickly gridlocked much of Cranberry Hole Road and Napeague Meadow Lane, which intersects the highway still to the west of where the accident took place.

Others tried more creative avenues. Some set out on foot, taking paths through the dunes to get around the accident scene and calling Ubers to pick them up on the other side. Some vehicles with four-wheel-drive tried to use the sand beaches to bypass the accident, only to find the beaches blocked by the snow fences erected to protect endangered piping plovers.

At least one vehicle plowed through the plover zone regardless, East Hampton Town Councilman David Lys said.

Another impatient driver tried to force his way through the accident scene, resulting in his arrest.

“The public has to understand the need to perform a thorough investigation and safely handle the scene,” Sarlo added. “We ask everyone’s patience in these tragic circumstances.

“This accident,” Sarlo added, “is another reminder of how fragile and difficult our overwhelmed roadways are during the summer.”