East Marion Head-On Crash Leaves 4 Dead

Four people were killed when two vehicles collided in a head-on crash in East Marion late Friday night, Southold Town Police said.

The collision at 11:33 p.m. on State Route 25 is currently being investigated by the Southold Town Police Department and the New York State Police accident reconstructive team, authorities said. 

Heath Miller, 47, of Greenport and 55-year-old William Price of Wilton, Conn. were traveling westbound on Route 25 in a 2023 Tesla when the vehicle collided with an eastbound 2020 Ford Explorer driven by Peter R. Smith, 80, and his passenger Patricia A. O’Neill, 66, both of Brooklyn, police said.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

The Suffolk County Police Emergency Services Unit as well as the East Marion, Orient and Southold Fire Departments also responded to the scene. 

The collision was the deadliest on the North Fork since the 2015 Cutchogue crash in which a pickup truck struck a limousine, killing four young women who were visiting local wineries. The truck driver pleaded guilty to driving while ability impaired in that case and the limo driver was cleared of criminally negligent homicide charges for making a U-turn at the time of the crash.