East Massapequa man seriously injured in North Amityville e-bike crash
Matthew Axmacher, 41, was hospitalized after his e-bike hit a Honda Civic at County Line Road and West Oak Street in North Amityville.
A North Amityville e-bike rider suffered serious injuries Friday night after colliding with a car at County Line Road and West Oak Street, a busy connector in the Amityville corridor. Suffolk County police said Matthew Axmacher, 41, of East Massapequa, was riding east on West Oak Street when he struck the driver’s side of a 2007 Honda Civic traveling north on County Line Road.
Police said the Honda driver, James Lee Kelly, 39, of North Amityville, was moving through a green light at about 8:20 p.m. when the crash happened. Kelly was not injured. Axmacher was taken to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip with serious injuries, and Suffolk County Police First Squad detectives are investigating.
The collision puts a familiar South Shore-style intersection under the microscope at a time when Suffolk County is trying to rein in e-bike danger. The county police department now directs residents to an E-Bike/E-Scooter Safety page that points to new county laws, and county lawmakers approved a resolution in December 2025 to tighten e-bike and e-scooter restrictions and strengthen helmet laws.
Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said, “Nobody under the age of 16 is supposed to be riding an e-bike.” He also has emphasized that riding is not allowed on roads over 30 mph, part of a broader enforcement push that county police said continued into 2026. Those rules matter in a case like this because the impact occurred at a signalized intersection where speed, position, and stopping distance can turn a routine crossing into a severe injury scene.
The broader road context is important, too. Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and Planning materials for the Amityville transit and walkability area place County Line Road and West Oak Street within a corridor tied to the Amityville Long Island Rail Road Station area, where pedestrian improvements and safer movement have been part of county planning. That does not explain the crash by itself, but it shows the intersection is part of a network that already carries commuter traffic, neighborhood traffic, and now faster micromobility use.
For residents who travel through North Amityville and nearby East Massapequa, the lesson is not only that a green light does not guarantee safety. It is also that Suffolk’s next steps on e-bike enforcement, helmet use, and corridor design will shape how often these crashes end in hospitalization instead of a close call.
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