Four killed in two-car crash in East Marion

Four people were killed in a fiery head-on collision at 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 17 in East Marion.

Southold Police said the cars collided just west of Truman’s Beach, and both cars caught fire, killing the passengers in both cars.

Police identified the deceased as: Heath Miller, 47, of Greenport; William Price, 55, of Wilton, Conn.; Peter R. Smith, 80, of Brooklyn; and Patricia A. O’Neill, 66, of Brooklyn.

Miller and Price were traveling westbound on Route 25 in a 2023 Tesla; Smith and O’Neill were traveling eastbound in a 2020 Ford Explorer when the cars collided head-on, according to the police.

In an email to Times Review, Greenport resident Diane Ravitch said, “I was heartbroken to learn that two of the victims in the head-on collision in East Marion were Dr. Peter R. Smith and Dr. Patricia O’Neill. They were friends, in addition to the fact that Dr. Smith treated me when I had a life-threatening pulmonary embolism in 1998. Dr. O’Neill was a greatly respected surgeon. Their deaths are a grievous loss for the many people whose lives they saved over many years.”

In a press release the police said, “The crash is currently being investigated by the Southold Town Police Department and the New York State Police accident reconstructive team. Suffolk County Police Emergency Services Unit as well as East Marion, Orient and Southold Fire Departments responded.”

In an interview Saturday afternoon, Police Chief Martin Flatley said the Tesla caught fire in the collision and burned for two hours.