Driver Who Fled Scene of Fatal Crash Arrested: Police

UPDATE 9 p.m.: Cruz Emelio Tum-Tipaz, 25, of Westhampton Beach, has been identified as the driver who fled the scene of the crash, Suffolk Police said. He has been arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

Juan Morales Cuterez, 28, of Westhampton, was the passenger in the SUV who killed in the crash.

Original story:

CORAM, NY – A man was killed and another seriously injured in a hit-and-run crash in Suffolk County Sunday morning, police said.

According to Suffolk Police, a 2005 Nissan Murano was traveling east on Middle Country Road when the SUV crossed into the westbound lanes and drove off the roadway, striking a metal utility pole at the intersection with Homestead Drive at about 4 a.m.

The driver of the vehicle fled on foot, northbound through a parking lot, leaving two passengers in the vehicle, police said.

One of the passengers, a man who has yet to be identified by police, was pronounced dead at the scene. The other passenger, Eledao Bolaj-Garcia, 53, of Westhampton, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital with serious, but non-life threatening injuries.

Police are asking anyone with information on this crash to call the Major Case Unit at 631-852-6555 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.