A local man’s life ended in a split second during a routine drive through a busy intersection. Hilton Spokony was only 45 years old when a horrific two-vehicle wreck took his life on Thursday night.
The tragedy unfolded around 10:10 p.m. in North Patchogue. Spokony was riding as a passenger in a car driven by 79-year-old Meredith Hill. They were traveling down a familiar stretch of road before everything went wrong.
Hill was driving southbound on Waverly Avenue. She tried to make a left turn onto eastbound Buckley Road. That was when a 2016 Dodge Ram pickup truck slammed directly into them.
The impact was brutal and concentrated on the passenger side. Emergency crews rushed to the scene to pull Spokony from the wreckage. They sped him over to NYU Langone Hospital – Suffolk in Patchogue, but doctors could not save him.
The drivers of both vehicles managed to survive the violent crash. Hill was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. The pickup driver, 55-year-old Michael Aulivola, went to the same hospital for minor injuries.
Suffolk County police immediately locked down the busy intersection. They launched a full investigation into what caused the wreck. Both vehicles were impounded to check for any sudden mechanical failures or safety issues.
Waverly Avenue and Buckley Road are notoriously busy pathways in central Suffolk County. They handle a heavy mix of neighborhood families and commercial trucks every single day. One bad turn can change multiple lives forever.
Major Case Unit detectives are now handling the active investigation. They still do not know exactly what factors caused the fatal crash. Authorities are urging anyone with information to call them right away at 631-852-6555.
