Middletown bartender Samantha Giordano critically injured in crash, fundraiser grows

Samantha Giordano, the 31-year-old bartender and nurse many at The Switch Inn call Middletown’s “fearless leader,” was critically injured when she lost control of her car on Scotchtown-Collabar Road, struck a tree, flipped the vehicle and went unconscious on Saturday. By Tuesday, her family said her injuries were extensive and she still had not woken up.

The crash has hit hardest at The Switch Inn on East Main Street, where coworkers were preparing for the bar’s Cinco de Mayo celebration without Giordano behind the counter. Bartender Kate Katzmann said it was “disappointing” to get through the holiday prep without her. Josie Longstreet, the bar’s owner, said Giordano was more than a bartender and called her “the backbone” of the business and of Middletown itself.

Longstreet said Giordano is also a single mother to her 7-year-old son, Ayden, and a nurse, which has made the stakes of her recovery even higher. She said Giordano worked tirelessly to promote the bar and helped build The Switch Inn’s Facebook following to nearly 10,000 people while juggling work in health care and parenting. Another report said her recovery could take more than a year, a timeline that points to steep medical costs and a prolonged loss of income for a working parent already facing a long rehabilitation.

The response from Middletown and beyond has been fast and visible. Donations, in-person collections and help from local businesses and volunteers have pushed fundraising close to $15,000, according to the latest tally shared in the reports. A fundraiser called Tequila for Sammy is scheduled for June 13, 2026, adding another organized push to help with what could become months of bills, lost wages and daily family expenses.

A GoFundMe titled Support Samantha’s Healing Journey was also created by Danielle Coscette. Public professional listings identify a Samantha Giordano, LPN, in Middletown, and a social-media profile describes her as a “High Risk Pediatric Nurse” and bartender, underscoring how one crash has abruptly put a familiar local worker, a mother and a health care employee at the center of Orange County’s support network.