WEST BABYLON, N.Y. — The power of prayer and community was palpable at a candlelight vigil for four teenagers who are fighting for their lives and the one who died in a car crash in Suffolk County over the weekend.
Police say 33-year-old Michael Desmond was traveling on Railroad Avenue in West Babylon after 1 a.m. on Saturday and failed to stop at a red light before crashing into a car on Great East Neck Road carrying five teenagers.
Desmond and 18-year-old Ryan Goot, a passenger in the car that was struck, did not survive.
Bella Trezza, 17, and her 18-year-old brother, Austin Trezza, 18-year-old Jack Murphy, and 16-year-old Anthony Pagliuca remain hospitalized.
“I heard something that sounded almost like an explosion,” neighbor Joselyn Alberto said.
Alberto and her husband ran out of their home and immediately called 911.
“I have three kids, myself, so I can’t imagine what those parents are going through,” Alberto said.