Merrick, NY — Crash Data, Roads, History & Law
Merrick is an unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, with 22,040 residents at the 2020 Census. Federal crash records show 13 fatal crashes that killed 15 people within its boundaries from 2010 through 2024 — 5 of them on foot. Sunrise Highway (NY 27) accounted for more of those deaths (5) than any other road. Residents who commute travel an average of 38.5 minutes each way.
Long Island Town Fact Book · Updated · Sources & method
Merrick at a glance
- Status
- Hamlet (unincorporated; census-designated place)
- Town
- Hempstead
- County
- Nassau County
- Population (2020 Census)
- 22,040[C]
- Housing units (2020)
- 7,672
- Land area
- 3.98 sq mi (plus 1.17 sq mi of water)
- Density
- 5,536 people per sq mi
- Average commute
- 38.5 minutes[B]
- Traffic deaths, 2010–2024
- 15[A]
- ZIP Code
- 11566
- Legal status
- Unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County[2]
- Main roads
- Sunrise Highway (NY 27); Merrick Road (Nassau County road); Meadowbrook State Parkway[3][8]
- Census geography
- Merrick CDP · GEOID 3646668 · GNIS 2389474
- Coordinates
- 40.6521°N, 73.5517°W
Hamlets in New York have no legal boundary or government of their own. Figures here use the Census Bureau's census-designated place, the standard statistical outline for the community; local usage of the name can be wider or narrower.
Name:William Beauchamp's 1907 New York State Museum survey gives "Me-ríc, Moroke or Merikoke" as the Indian name of Merrick, in the Town of Hempstead, "so named from a tribe living there"; it records the Mericoke selling land in 1657 and being called "Indians of Merriack or Rockaway" in a 1643 land sale, with "Merrack Neck" mentioned in 1658.[1]
Fatal crashes in Merrick, 2010–2024
From January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2024, 15 people died in 13 crashes on public roads inside Merrick, according to the federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System.[A] Pedestrians account for 5 of those deaths (33%). The deadliest year was 2010, with 4 deaths.
- Fatal crashes
- 13
- People killed
- 15
- Pedestrians
- 5
- Bicyclists
- 0
- Motorcyclists
- 1
- Vehicle occupants
- 9
2024 figures come from NHTSA's Annual Report File and may be revised.
View the chart as a table
| Year | Fatal crashes | Deaths |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2 | 4 |
| 2011 | 1 | 1 |
| 2012 | 1 | 1 |
| 2013 | 1 | 1 |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 1 | 1 |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 1 | 1 |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 1 | 1 |
| 2020 | 2 | 2 |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 | 1 |
| 2023 | 1 | 1 |
| 2024 | 1 | 1 |
Roads where people died
| Road | Crashes | Deaths |
|---|---|---|
| Sunrise Highway (NY 27) | 5 | 5 |
| Meadowbrook State Parkway | 3 | 5 |
| Merrick Ave | 2 | 2 |
| Merrick Road | 2 | 2 |
| Babylon Turnpike | 1 | 1 |
Road names as recorded by police and normalised to common Long Island names.
When and where
- Of the 13 crashes with a recorded time, 6 happened between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., 2 between 4 and 8 p.m., 2 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and 3 between 6 and 10 a.m.
- 54% happened in darkness.
- 5 of the 15 deaths were on expressways or parkways; 10 were on arterials and local streets.
- 1 crash killed more than one person.
- In at least 1 crash, a driver had a reported blood-alcohol concentration of .08 or higher. This counts known test results only; NHTSA's official alcohol estimates, which impute untested drivers, are higher.
Who owns the roads where they happened (2015–2024)
FARS has recorded the owner of the roadway since 2015. Of the 8 fatal crashes in Merrick since then:
- State highways 5 (63%)
- County roads 2 (25%)
- Town roads 1 (13%)
Ownership matters in New York because claims against a county, town, city or village generally require a notice of claim within 90 days (General Municipal Law § 50-e), while claims against the State are brought in the Court of Claims under Court of Claims Act § 10. This is general information, not legal advice.
Rate: 4.5 traffic deaths per 100,000 residents per year, against 5.8 for Nassau County. This is a resident-based rate, not a measure of how risky the roads are to drive: crashes are counted where they happen, not where the people involved live, so a small community crossed by a major highway shows a high rate.
Every fatal crash on record
| Date | Time | Road | Deaths | Who died | Light |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| * | 2 a.m. | Merrick Ave | 1 | Vehicle occupant | dark |
| 12 a.m. | Sunrise Highway (NY 27) | 1 | Pedestrian | dark | |
| 12 p.m. | Merrick Road at Benson Ln | 1 | Pedestrian | daylight | |
| 12 a.m. | Meadowbrook State Parkway | 1 | Vehicle occupant | dark | |
| 6 p.m. | Meadowbrook State Parkway | 1 | Vehicle occupant | dark | |
| 1 p.m. | Merrick Road at Kenny Ave | 1 | Pedestrian | daylight | |
| 9 a.m. | Sunrise Highway (NY 27) at Central Blvd | 1 | Vehicle occupant | daylight | |
| 4 p.m. | Sunrise Highway (NY 27) at Hewlett Ave | 1 | Motorcyclist | dusk | |
| 4 a.m. | Sunrise Highway (NY 27) at Lansdown Ave | 1 | Vehicle occupant | dark | |
| 6 a.m. | Sunrise Highway (NY 27) at Hewlett Ave | 1 | Pedestrian | dawn | |
| 1 a.m. | Babylon Turnpike | 1 | Pedestrian | dark | |
| 10 p.m. | Merrick Ave | 1 | Vehicle occupant | dark | |
| 8 a.m. | Meadowbrook State Parkway | 3 | 3 vehicle occupants | daylight |
FARS contains no names or personal identifiers. * 2024 records are preliminary. Download all 13 records (CSV) · How this was compiled
Recent Merrick Incident Reports
Missing Adult Reported in Merrick, Nassau County on August 2, 2026
Missing Adult Reported in Merrick, Nassau County on August 2, 2026. August 2, 2026.
Merrick E-Bike Rider, 24, Critically Injured in Friday Crash, Police Say
Merrick E-Bike Rider, 24, Critically Injured in Friday Crash, Police Say. July 10, 2026.
4-Year-Old of Merrick Dies After Southern State Parkway Crash Near Exit 20N
A 4-year-old of Merrick Dies After Southern State Parkway Crash Near Exit 20N. June 29, 2026.
Missing Juvenile in Merrick, Nassau County — NCPD Update Issued
Missing Juvenile in Merrick, Nassau County — NCPD Update Issued. June 18, 2026.
4-Year-Old Trapped, Critical After 2006 Nissan Sentra Hits Trees on Southern State Parkway Near Exit 20
Two Teen Girls Struck by Hit-and-Run SUV on Sunrise Highway in Merrick
Two Teen Girls Struck by Hit-and-Run SUV on Sunrise Highway in Merrick. June 17, 2026.
Updated continuously from 511NY, NYSP, NCPD, and SCPD feeds — all Long Island reports.
All reported crashes in the Town of Hempstead, 2021–2024
New York's crash file codes each crash to a town, city or village — never to a hamlet — so the finest official count that covers Merrick is for the Town of Hempstead, which contains it. Police reported 68,511 crashes there from 2021 through 2024 — about 46.9 a day. 18,712 (27.3%) injured someone and 142 were fatal. [D]
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15,884 | 17,747 | 17,500 | 17,380 | 68,511 |
- Injury crashes
- 18,712
- Fatal crashes
- 142
- Struck a pedestrian
- 1,410
- Struck a bicyclist
- 742
- Struck a deer
- 5
Counts are crashes, not people. The municipality is entered by the reporting police agency, and coding is less consistent for small villages, so compare places with care.
How Merrick gets to work
Merrick commuters travel an average of 38.5 minutes each way, 2.5 minutes longer than the Nassau County average (the national average is 26.4 minutes). About 54.2% of workers drive alone, and 7.9% ride the railroad. [B]
| Measure | Merrick | Nassau County | New York State | United States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average one-way commute | 38.5 min ±4.9 | 36 min | 32.6 min | 26.4 min |
| Commute 60 minutes or longer | 23.9% ±4.1 | 22.3% | 16.8% | 8.6% |
| Commute under 15 minutes | 13.6% ±3.7 | 17.9% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Drive alone | 54.2% ±3.7 | 60.7% | 48.8% | 68.8% |
| Carpool | 5.2% ±1.9 | 7.3% | 6.3% | 8.5% |
| Commuter rail (LIRR) | 7.9% ±1.7 | 7.1% | 1.8% | 0.3% |
| Bus | 0% ±0.2 † | 2.2% | 5.1% | 1.5% |
| Walk | 0.3% ±0.4 † | 2% | 5.6% | 2.4% |
| Work from home | 24.5% ±4 | 15.6% | 14.9% | 15.1% |
| Leave home before 6 a.m. | 5.4% ±2.1 | 10.8% | 10.6% | 14.4% |
| Households with no vehicle | 2.1% ±1.4 † | 6.8% | 29.2% | 8.4% |
| Households with three or more vehicles | 19.9% ±3.5 | 23.3% | 11.8% | 21.9% |
Survey estimates for 10,723 workers aged 16 and over; ± values are 90% margins of error. † Small sample — the margin of error is large relative to the estimate, so treat the figure as indicative only. Travel-time rows exclude people who work from home.
Notable facts about Merrick
- Merrick takes its name from the Mericoke (also rendered Meroke), described in an 1858 record as holding "Merrack Neck," who sold land in the area in 1657.[1]
- New York State's official parkway description names the Meadowbrook Parkway bridge over Merrick Road, in neighboring Freeport, the "Detective Kathleen M. Reilly Memorial Bridge."[3]
- A 2013 Appellate Division ruling arising from a Merrick Road motorcycle crash confirmed that Nassau County, not the Town of Hempstead, owns and must be given prior written notice of defects in Merrick Road.[8]
- A 1988 zoning fight over the former Merrick Gables Theater turned on a shortfall of 22 to 32 parking spaces under the town's code.[7]
History
Merrick lies within the Town of Hempstead, whose founding deed was negotiated on December 13, 1643 between English emissaries Robert Fordham and John Carman and Native representatives the town's own archives name as the Reuckowacky, the Merockes, Matinecock and Massapequas.[2] The hamlet's own name comes from the same people: William Beauchamp's 1907 New York State Museum inventory of the region's Algonquian place names records "Me-ríc, Moroke or Merikoke" as the Indian name for Merrick, "named from a tribe living there," and notes that these "Mericoke Indians sold some land in 1657," that an earlier 1643 land sale referred to them as "Indians of Merriack or Rockaway," and that "Merrack Neck" appears in records from 1658.[1]
How the roads got here
Sunrise Highway, signed as New York State Route 27, runs through Merrick's commercial corridor as part of NYSDOT's continuous South Shore touring route "to Valley Stream, Lynbrook, Rockville Centre, Freeport, Massapequa Park" and points east.[3]
Merrick Road, which parallels Sunrise Highway through the older downtown, is a Nassau County road: a 2013 Appellate Division ruling arising from a motorcycle crash on "Merrick Road in Nassau County" applied the county's own prior-written-notice code to the road, confirming county ownership (see Law and legal history).[8] The Meadowbrook State Parkway runs along Merrick's western edge; New York's official highway description separately designates it "The Norman J. Levy Memorial Highway," whose route NYSDOT lists as running to "Jones Beach State Park, Merrick, Carle Place."[3] The parkway crosses Merrick Road at a bridge in neighboring Freeport that the state has named the "Detective Kathleen M. Reilly Memorial Bridge."[3]
Law and legal history
In Cimino v. County of Nassau, 105 A.D.3d 883, decided April 17, 2013, a motorcyclist injured by a road defect on Merrick Road sued Nassau County; the Appellate Division affirmed summary judgment for the county, holding that once "a municipality has enacted a prior written notice statute, it may not be subjected to liability for injuries caused by an improperly maintained street or sidewalk unless it has received written notice of the defect," and that the county had shown it received no such notice under section 12-4.0(e) of the Nassau County Administrative Code and had not itself performed repairs creating the defect.[8]
In Merrick Gables Ass'n v. Fields, 143 A.D.2d 117, decided August 8, 1988, neighbors in the Merrick Gables section challenged a Town of Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals variance letting the new owner of the former Merrick Gables Theater convert part of the building into offices despite a shortfall of on-site parking (52 spaces against a code requirement that, after the project was scaled back, called for 74).[7] The Appellate Division affirmed the board's grant of the area variance as "supported by substantial evidence upon the entire record."[7]
As elsewhere in the Town of Hempstead's unincorporated area, injury claims over defects in town-maintained (as opposed to county-maintained) streets and sidewalks require prior written notice under section 6-1 or 6-3 of the Code of the Town of Hempstead.[9]
Cases of record
- Cimino v. County of Nassau, 105 A.D.3d 883 (2013)[8]
- Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Second Department, 2013. A motorcyclist was injured by a defective condition on Merrick Road, a Nassau County-owned road.The court affirmed summary judgment for the county, holding that under the prior-written-notice requirement of Nassau County Administrative Code section 12-4.0(e), the county could not be held liable absent proof it had received written notice of the specific roadway defect.
- Merrick Gables Ass'n v. Fields, 143 A.D.2d 117 (1988)[7]
- Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Second Department, 1988. Neighbors in Merrick's Merrick Gables section challenged a zoning variance for redevelopment of the former Merrick Gables Theater.The court affirmed the Town of Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals' grant of an area variance for reduced on-site parking, finding the decision supported by substantial evidence.
Each summary describes the cited decision only. Later appellate history is noted where we found it, but it has not been checked systematically — confirm a case's current status with a citator before relying on it. General information, not legal advice.
Government, courts and policing
Merrick is unincorporated and has no village government. The Nassau County Police Department's Seventh Precinct, headquartered at 3636 Merrick Road in Seaford, states that it "serves the communities of Merrick, Bellmore, Wantagh, North Wantagh, Seaford, Massapequa, North Massapequa, Massapequa Park and East Massapequa."[4][5]
Misdemeanors, lesser offenses, felony arraignments and civil claims up to $15,000 from Merrick go to the Nassau County District Court at 99 Main Street, Hempstead; larger civil matters go to Nassau County Supreme Court in Mineola; non-criminal traffic and parking tickets go to the county's Traffic & Parking Violations Agency in Garden City.[10][11][12]
Landmarks and listed places
- Merrick Gables Theater — Former movie theater in the Merrick Gables section; subject of a 1988 Appellate Division zoning ruling on its office conversion[7]
Merrick timeline
- Land sale reference. A land sale referred to the Mericoke as 'Indians of Merriack or Rockaway.'[1]
- Mericoke land sale. The Mericoke Indians, from whom Merrick takes its name, sold land in the area.[1]
- Merrack Neck named. "Merrack Neck" is mentioned in records of this year.[1]
- Meadowbrook Parkway link. New York State's official touring-route description ties the Meadowbrook State Parkway, later named the Norman J. Levy Memorial Highway, to Jones Beach State Park, Merrick and Carle Place.[3]
- Merrick Gables zoning case. An Appellate Division panel upheld an area variance allowing conversion of part of the former Merrick Gables Theater into office space.[7]
- Cimino v. County of Nassau. The Appellate Division affirmed dismissal of a motorcyclist's suit over a defect in Merrick Road for lack of prior written notice to the county.[8]
Major roads in Merrick
| Road | Route | Maintained by | In Merrick |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunrise Highway [3] | NY 27 | New York State | runs through the hamlet's commercial corridor |
| Merrick Road [8] | Nassau County road | Nassau County | parallels Sunrise Highway through the older downtown |
| Meadowbrook State Parkway [3] | Norman J. Levy Memorial Highway | New York State (Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; maintained and signed by NYSDOT) | runs along the hamlet's western edge toward Jones Beach |
Emergency Resources
Hospitals
- Nassau University Medical Center — 2201 Hempstead Turnpike, East Meadow, NY 11554 — (516) 572-0123 (Nassau County's only Level I adult trauma center.)
Police
Emergency: 911
Courts
- Nassau County Supreme Court — 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY 11501 — (516) 493-3400 (Civil matters, including personal-injury actions.)
- Nassau County Traffic & Parking Violations Agency — 801 Axinn Avenue, Garden City, NY 11530 — (516) 572-2700 (Adjudicates traffic, parking and photo-enforcement tickets.)
Local Driver Services in Merrick
Practical resources for Merrick drivers — tire shops, gas prices, and live traffic conditions.
Safety Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do after a car accident in Merrick, NY?
Move to safety and call 911 immediately, then document the scene with photos and exchange insurance and contact information with everyone involved. File a police report with NCPD and notify your insurer promptly. New York is a no-fault state, so your own PIP coverage pays initial medical costs regardless of fault, and you have just 30 days to file the NF-2 application.
Which roads are most dangerous in Merrick?
Sunrise Highway and Merrick Road carry the heaviest traffic through Merrick and account for most of the reported crashes we track. Sunrise Highway at Merrick Avenue — one of the South Shore’s busiest signalized junctions. Commercial driveways, signalized intersections, and turning movements along these corridors drive the local crash mix.
How current are these Merrick accident reports?
Long Island Traffic adds new reports every 2–4 hours from 511NY, NYS Police Troop L, NCPD, and verified local news. Scroll up for the latest Merrick and Nassau County incidents, and check the "Dangerous Roads" section for corridor-level breakdowns.
Do I need a lawyer after a Merrick accident?
If you suffered serious injuries, significant property damage, or the other driver was uninsured, consulting a Nassau County personal injury attorney is strongly recommended. Many firms offer free consultations and work on contingency. See our free guides at /know-your-rights/car-accidents/ and /know-your-rights/insurance-claims/.
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Data: machine-readable fact sheet (JSON) · fatal-crash records (CSV) · methodology and limits
References
Datasets
- [A] National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2010–2024 national files. Retrieved September 17, 2026.Crashes on public trafficways in which a person died within 30 days. No personal identifiers. Placed by reported coordinates into 2020 Census boundaries.
- [B] U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-Year Estimates, tables B08303, B08013, B08301, B08302, B08201, B19013, B01002. Retrieved September 17, 2026.Survey estimates with 90% margins of error. lowReliability = coefficient of variation above 30%.
- [C] U.S. Census Bureau, TIGERweb — 2020 Census tabulation geography (POP100, HU100, AREALAND). Retrieved September 17, 2026.
- [D] New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, Motor Vehicle Crashes — Case Information: Four Year Window. Retrieved September 17, 2026.Police-reported crashes coded to a town, city or village by the reporting agency. Hamlets are not coded; hamlet pages show the parent town.
Sources for history, roads and law
- [1] New York State Museum / University of the State of New York. Aboriginal Place Names of New York (New York State Museum Bulletin 108) (1907). Book.
- [2] Town of Hempstead (Town Clerk Archives). History of the Town (n.d.). Government record.
- [3] New York State Department of Transportation, Office of Traffic Safety & Mobility. Official Description of Highway Touring Routes, Bicycle Touring Routes, Scenic Byways, & Commemorative/Memorial Designations in New York State (2017). Government record.
- [4] Nassau County Police Department. About Precinct (Seventh Precinct) (n.d.). Government record.
- [5] Nassau County Police Department. Nassau County Police Department Precincts (addresses and telephone numbers) (n.d.). Government record.
- [7] Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School Library. Merrick Gables Ass'n v. Fields, 143 A.D.2d 117 (1988) (1988). Court decision.
- [8] Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School Library. Cimino v. County of Nassau, 105 A.D.3d 883 (2013) (2013). Court decision.
- [9] Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School Library. Cuzzo v. Town of Hempstead, 61 A.D.3d 921 (2009) (2009). Court decision.
- [10] New York State Unified Court System. Nassau County District Court (2026). Court decision.
- [11] New York State Unified Court System. Nassau County Supreme Court (2026). Court decision.
- [12] Nassau County. Traffic & Parking Violations Agency (2026). Government record.
- [14] New York State Department of Health. New York State Trauma Centers (n.d.). Government record.
Sources opened and checked September 17, 2026.