Attorney general opens investigation into Patchogue crash that killed man

Hilton Spokony’s death in Patchogue is now under state review, a step that puts Suffolk County’s police oversight system and the handling of deadly crashes in sharper public view. The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation opened the case on June 17 after the June 12 collision that killed the 45-year-old East Patchogue resident.

OSI’s role matters because this is not just a local traffic file. Under New York Executive Law Section 70-b, the office must assess every death it is told about that may have involved a police officer or peace officer, whether that officer was on duty or off duty. If OSI decides an officer may have caused the death, it can move into a full investigation. If it concludes an officer did cause a death, the office can present evidence to a grand jury or issue a report explaining its findings.

The crash happened shortly after 10 p.m. near the intersection of Waverly Avenue and Buckley Road in Patchogue. OSI said Spokony was a passenger in a 2023 Kia Forte that was heading south on Waverly Avenue and attempting a left turn when it was struck by a northbound 2016 Dodge Ram driven by Michael Aulivola, 55, of Holtsville, an off-duty Suffolk County police officer driving his personal vehicle. Spokony was taken to NYU Langone Hospital-Suffolk, where he was pronounced dead. Meredith Corchnoy-Hill, 79, of East Patchogue, who was driving the Kia, and Aulivola were both treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Spokony’s wife, Nisa K. Hill-Spokony, said on Facebook that her mother, Meredith Corchnoy-Hill, had picked him up from work around 10 p.m. and was bruised but otherwise okay. She said Spokony did not survive the crash. The account underscored how quickly a routine ride home turned into a fatal collision on a busy Suffolk roadway.

Suffolk County police Major Case Unit detectives were still investigating and asking anyone with information to call 631-852-6555. The vehicles were also being examined as part of the crash inquiry. OSI’s public investigations page already lists Hilton Spokony among its 2026 Suffolk County Police Department cases, signaling that the matter is now part of the state’s active oversight docket.

For Patchogue, the central questions remain whether the turn, the speed, or some other factor set off the collision and how the state will describe responsibility if its review finds the officer’s actions mattered. In a county where trust in law enforcement depends heavily on clear answers after tragedy, the next findings will carry weight far beyond Buckley Road.