Suffolk County Police Major Case Unit detectives are investigating a hit-and-run crash that killed a female pedestrian in Hauppauge last night.
A motor vehicle, believed to be a sedan, was traveling eastbound on Motor Parkway when it collided with another vehicle at the intersection of Moreland Road, left the roadway, and struck Cherokee Fletcher, 28, of Commack, standing on the sidewalk at approximately 10:15 p.m. The vehicle then fled the scene eastbound on Motor Parkway.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by a physician assistant from the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner.
Detectives are asking anyone with information on this crash to call the Major Case Unit at 631-852-6555 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
William K. Vanderbilt II (1878-1944), heir to a railroad fortune, was a pioneer American auto-racing champion. On Oct. 8, 1904, after competing for years in Europe, he inaugurated the first international road race in the United States – the Vanderbilt Cup.
This year, the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum, located on the Vanderbilt summer estate, Eagle’s Nest, notes the 115th anniversary of those famous races and of Vanderbilt’s world speed record.
On Jan. 27, 1904, he drove his Mercedes race car on a course in Daytona-Ormond Beach, Florida, and achieved a top speed of 92.3 miles per hour.
William K. Vanderbilt II, left, set a world land-speed record in 1904 in this 90-horsepower Mercedes race car.
American History magazine reported in 2013: “Flush from his triumph, the 26-year-old Vanderbilt returned to New York and announced his intention to organize a major race on Long Island, where he owned an estate. It would be the first true international automobile road race in the United States. Vanderbilt had raced extensively in Europe, in French and German cars, but now he became focused on promoting the U.S. car industry.
“His motivation, he later explained, was that ‘foreign cars seemed to be always five years ahead of the American cars. If something could be done to induce foreign manufacturers to race in this country, our manufacturers would benefit.’
“Vanderbilt provided the inducement. His plan was for a grueling 300-mile race, and he commissioned Tiffany & Co. to make a 30-pound sterling-silver trophy adorned with a frieze of himself driving the Ormond Flier to a world’s record. The race, like the trophy, was called the Vanderbilt Cup.”
Vanderbilt donated the cup to the Smithsonian Institution in 1934.
The inaugural Vanderbilt Cup Race on Oct. 8, 1904, drew more than 25,000 spectators to watch 18 drivers from the U.S., France, Germany and Italy. The racecourse comprised 30 miles of public roads in central Long Island. The six Vanderbilt Cup races held on Long Island from 1904 to 1910 were some of the largest sporting events of the early 20th century. Some races drew crowds of more than 250,000.
The Vanderbilt Cup races prompted American carmakers to improve their technology, generated the idea of using race victories to market cars and pioneered road building. In 1908, Vanderbilt built the Vanderbilt Motor Parkway for his races. The parkway was the first road constructed specifically for automobiles – and a prototype for future highways.
The roadway still exists in Suffolk County as County Road 67.
To learn more about the Vanderbilt Cup, visit the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum’s Turntable Gallery in the mansion’s Memorial Wing, 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport. The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. through Sept. 2. For more information, call 631-854-5579 or visit www.vanderbiltmuseum.org.
Police arrested Alhong Wang, Chunhua Cui, Guiyu Piao, and Hailian Shen were arrested for allegedly practicing massage without a license May 4.
Suffolk County police arrested four women for allegedly unlicensed massages during a raid at a massage parlor in Hauppauge.
In response to numerous community complaints, Suffolk County police 4th Precinct crime section officers and the Town of Islip fire marshal executed a search warrant May 4 at the Royal Spa, located on Motor Parkway, at approximately 4 p.m.
Hailian Shen, 49, of Flushing; Chunhua Cui, 50, of Flushing; Guiyu Piao 48, of Flushing; and Aihong Wang, 49, of Little Neck; were all arrested and charged with alleged unauthorized practice of a profession, a class E felony under the New York State Education law. In addition, Cui, Piao and Wang were also charged with prostitution.
During the investigation conducted by Islip fire marshals numerous violations and summons were issued.
Cui was held in lieu of $10,000 cash bail, which was not posted as of May 7. Wang was held in lieu of $7,500 cash bail, which also was not posted as of May 7.
The arrestees were arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip May 5. Details on Shen and Piao’s arrangements were not immediately available.
Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives are investigating an incident in which a woman was found dead in a parking lot in Hauppauge Dec. 23.
Paula Chavez-Quintanilla was found in the rear parking lot of 150 Motor Parkway at approximately 9:10 a.m. Chavez-Quintanilla, 65, of Brentwood, appeared to be a victim of violence and was pronounced dead at the scene by a physician assistant from the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner.
Homicide Squad detectives ask anyone with information regarding this incident to call detectives at 631-852-6392, or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-8477 (TIPS). All calls will remain confidential.
