1 still critical after deadly Sunrise Highway wrong-way crash

One person remained in critical condition Monday after a deadly wrong-way crash on Sunrise Highway. Family and friends arrived Monday at the Mastic Beach home of 49-year old Ozcan Ayyidiz. Police say

News 12 Staff

Nov 29, 2016, 3:33 AM

Updated 2,705 days ago

Share:

1 still critical after deadly Sunrise Highway wrong-way crash
One person remained in critical condition Monday after a deadly wrong-way crash on Sunrise Highway.
Family and friends arrived Monday at the Mastic Beach home of 49-year old Ozcan Ayyidiz. Police say he was killed around 4 a.m. Sunday by a wrong-way driver on Sunrise Highway in Brookhaven.
Witnesses called 911 to report that a 2004 white Infiniti was going the wrong way at a high rate of speed on Sunrise Highway. Police say that driver, 23-year-old Kevin Melgar, slammed into Ayyidiz, killing both of them.
According to Melgar's younger brother, Melgar was out celebrating his birthday with his 25-year-old cousin, who survived the wreck. The cousin was still in critical condition at a hospital.
A few hours after the crash, while Sunrise was still shut down, police say a street sweeper came barreling through and slammed into two police cars. One officer was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening. The driver of the street sweeper, police say, fell asleep at the wheel and will not be charged.
Ayyidiz's eldest daughter says he worked as a flower deliveryman and was on his way to work in Ronkonkoma at the time of the crash.


More from News 12