Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
A 20-year-old Merrick man is dead following a violent single-vehicle crash on the Southern State Parkway in Wantagh late on the night of December 28, 2025. According to Long Island Life & Politics, New York State Police troopers responded to the Southern State Parkway eastbound, just east of Exit 29 (Hicksville Road), at approximately 11:32 p.m. for a report of a single-vehicle collision. The crash claimed the life of the driver, identified as Abraham Toribio, age 20.
A preliminary investigation by the New York State Police revealed that Toribio’s vehicle left the roadway for an unknown reason. Once off the road, the car struck a light pole and then multiple trees before coming to rest on the shoulder of the parkway. The sequence of impacts — first a fixed pole and then several trees — suggests a significant loss of vehicle control at speed, consistent with the conditions authorities described at the scene.
Toribio was ejected from the vehicle during the collision. Ejection from a vehicle is among the most dangerous outcomes in any crash, dramatically increasing the risk of fatal injury. He was transported from the scene to Nassau University Medical Center, where he was subsequently pronounced dead, according to Long Island Life & Politics. No other occupants or vehicles were reported to be involved in the crash.
New York State Police identified two contributing factors in the collision: unsafe speed and slippery pavement. The late-night timing — approaching midnight on a late December evening — places the crash squarely in conditions when road surfaces on Long Island are prone to frost, black ice, or moisture-related slickness, all of which can dramatically reduce stopping distances and vehicle control, particularly when speeds are elevated. Investigators have not yet determined the exact reason Toribio’s vehicle departed the travel lanes, and that aspect of the inquiry remains open.
No charges have been reported in connection with this incident, as the crash appears to be a single-occupant, single-vehicle fatality with no surviving drivers or passengers to prosecute. The investigation by NYSP remains ongoing as of the time of reporting.
Location & Road Context
The crash took place on the Southern State Parkway eastbound, just east of Exit 29, which serves Hicksville Road in the Wantagh area of Nassau County. The Southern State Parkway is one of Long Island’s most heavily traveled arterial parkways, running east-west and connecting communities from Valley Stream in Nassau County through to Heckscher State Park in Suffolk County. The section near Exit 29 in Wantagh is a frequently used corridor for commuters and late-night travelers alike.
The Southern State Parkway is well-represented in Long Island Traffic’s incident database, with 446 recorded incidents logged for this road alone. Recent activity on the corridor has included additional crashes, including a moderate crash on May 25, 2026, a minor crash on May 24, 2026, and a property damage accident near Exit 37S on May 22, 2026. The parkway has also seen active roadwork in recent weeks, including steel repairs, barrier repairs, and repaving operations, which can affect surface conditions along various stretches of the road.
Broader Impact
The ejection of Abraham Toribio during this crash draws attention to a pattern seen repeatedly on parkway roads like the Southern State: nighttime single-vehicle crashes in which speed and adverse surface conditions combine with catastrophic results. New York State law requires all vehicle occupants to wear seatbelts, and ejection from a vehicle — which dramatically increases the likelihood of a fatality — is strongly associated with seatbelt non-use. While investigators have not publicly commented on restraint use in this specific crash, the NYSP’s identification of unsafe speed and slippery pavement as contributing factors, combined with the ejection, underscores the multiplied danger when multiple risk factors converge in a single incident on a high-speed parkway corridor like the Southern State.