Privacy update — September 18, 2026: Identifying details have been removed under our victim privacy policy.
What Happened
A two-crash sequence on the eastbound Long Island Expressway in Melville seriously injured one man and ended with two arrests Sunday morning, September 13, 2026, according to News 12 Long Island.
A 27-year-old man was driving in the HOV lane near Exit 50 around 6 a.m. when he struck the median, police told News 12. He got out of his vehicle to inspect the damage. He was standing outside the car when a second vehicle, driven by Cristian Guevara, 28, struck him.
The man was transported to a hospital with serious injuries. His condition beyond “serious” was not detailed in the report. Police say Guevara was driving while impaired by drugs at the time he struck him.
Guevara’s passenger, John Hurtado-Conde, was also in the vehicle. Police say both Guevara and Hurtado-Conde were allegedly found in possession of narcotics. Both men were arrested and charged with multiple drug-related offenses.
Melville resident Phil Sherman witnessed the aftermath. “It was a pretty nasty accident,” Sherman told News 12 Long Island. “It seemed one of the cars had spun around by the divider and smashed into the divider. The police had closed off the LIE just before Exit 49.” Sherman said traffic backed up but moved faster than he expected. “There was a bit of a backup, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I came back and 30 minutes later is when it pretty much cleared up.”
Eastbound lanes near Exit 49 closed around 6 a.m. as police investigated. They reopened around noon — a closure of approximately six hours.
Location & Road Context
The crash unfolded on I-495 eastbound in Melville, in the HOV lane near Exit 50, with police establishing a perimeter back to Exit 49. The stretch between Exits 49 and 50 carries high volumes of commuter traffic heading toward the mid-Suffolk interchange.
The LIE has 100 recorded incidents in the past 30 days and 471 so far in 2026, according to Long Island Traffic’s incident registry — this crash is one of the 100. The most recent prior fatal crash on the corridor occurred August 26, 2026. Sunday’s incident also generated multiple related registry entries, including a reported HOV lane crash and a separate Exit 49N closure entry logged the same morning.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Guevara faces charges of driving while impaired by drugs under New York law, along with narcotics possession charges. Hurtado-Conde faces narcotics possession charges. The exact substances involved were not specified in the News 12 Long Island report.
Both Guevara and Hurtado-Conde were expected to be arraigned Monday, September 14, 2026. No bail figure or arraignment court was named in the source report.