Arrest Made After 5 Boy Scouts Struck By Car In Suffolk County
MANORVILLE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Five Boy Scouts walking in a wooded area on a beautiful fall day one minute were rushed to area hospitals the next after being hit by a car.
Investigators shut down a section of David Terry Road for most of the day following the incident, which happened at around 2 p.m. The part street where the incident happened is said to be winding and doesn't have sidewalks, CBS2's Ali Bauman reported.
On Sunday night, Suffolk County Police announced they had made an arrest in the case, picking up 59-year-old Thomas Murphy of Holbrook. He was charged with driving while intoxicated. Murphy was to be held overnight and arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Monday.
Police said all the boys, who are members of Troop 161 out of Shoreham and range in age from 12 to 16, are expected to survive and the driver of the vehicle in question, a 2016 Mercedes, stayed at the scene.
But prior to the arrest there were few answers.
"You know, it was the middle of day. I don't know how that could've happened," Manorville resident Paul Gutowski said. "I think they were practicing for a hiking trip. That's what I was told."
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Neighbors told CBS2's Bauman the area is popular with hikers, and there are a lot of trails in the surrounding woods.
The boys were seen walking with adult chaperones before being hit. Ambulances later took the children to nearby hospitals.
"People come flying around that corner. You can see over there in the woods cars spin out constantly and they get around that corner and just go like crazy," Gutowski said.
Detectives are asking anyone who may have witnessed this incident to call the Major Case Unit at 631-852-6555 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220 TIPS.
