2nd Driver Nabbed In Deadly Long Island Pedestrian Strike 1 Year Later: Police

PATCHOGUE, NY — A Patchogue man was charged Thursday with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash that killed a 25-year-old man in Patchogue last year, Suffolk police said.

Jesus Matute was identified as the driver of a 2005 Nissan SUV, the second vehicle that fled the scene after striking a pedestrian on Medford Avenue on March 12, 2023, according to police.

Matute, 73, was arrested at the 5th Precinct in Patchogue and is scheduled to be arraigned at criminal court in Riverside on Thursday, police said.

The arrest was made following an investigation by the Major Case Squad.

Nicholas Puzio of Farmingville was crossing Medford Avenue at Oak Street at around 4 a.m. when he was struck by a southbound white sedan traveling on Medford Avenue, and around one minute later, he was struck a second time by a gray Nissan Armada, police said.

Both drivers fled the scene and Puzio was taken to Long Island Community Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The same day Elian Jurado-Zavala, 19, of Bay Shore was identified as the first driver that struck Puzio. He was arrested at his home and was charged with leaving the scene of an accident with a fatality.

In a previous interview, Puzio's mother, Teresa, told Patch that everyone knew who he was when he walked in the room because he was funny.

"Everything was funny; it was a joke,” she said. “He really lived life to the fullest. I have to say, at 25 years old, he did a lot. He was a really wonderful person.”