A 60-year-old man was killed in a crash outside a Center Moriches 7-Eleven after a pickup truck plowed into him in the parking lot, Suffolk County police said.
Silverio Saldana-Trejo, of Center Moriches, was walking through the parking lot of the convenience store at 231 Wading River Road when disaster struck just before dawn at about 4:40 a.m., according to Suffolk County Police Seventh Squad detectives.
Cops said a 2022 Ford F-150 driven by Antonio Ferrara, 60, of Granbury, Texas, turned into the busy gas station and slammed into Saldana-Trejo, leaving the victim fatally injured in the lot.
The impact was so severe that Saldana-Trejo was pronounced dead at the scene by a physician assistant from the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office, authorities said.
Ferrara was not hurt in the crash and remained at the scene as detectives launched an investigation into exactly what happened during the deadly encounter in the darkened parking lot.
Police have not said whether speed, visibility or driver distraction may have played a role in the collision. No criminal charges have been announced.
The Ford pickup was impounded by investigators for a full safety inspection as detectives work to reconstruct the fatal crash and determine the moments leading up to the collision.
Detectives are urging anyone who may have witnessed the crash or who has surveillance footage from the area to come forward.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Suffolk County Police Seventh Squad detectives at 631-852-8752.
The investigation remains active.