Pedestrian seriously injured on Town Line Road in East Northport crash

A Brentwood man was seriously injured after stepping out of his Honda on Town Line Road and being struck near 341 Town Line Road in East Northport, adding fresh scrutiny to a corridor that neighbors already view as risky for people on foot.

Suffolk County police said Fausto Sorto, 35, had pulled his 2014 Honda Accord onto the shoulder on Friday evening and got out of the car before walking around to the back. Investigators said he was standing near the rear, in the driver’s-side trunk area, when he was hit by an eastbound 2019 Volkswagen Atlas driven by Benjamin Gutleber, 17, of Northport.

Sorto was taken to South Shore University Hospital for treatment of serious injuries. Gutleber was not injured. Police said both vehicles were impounded for a safety check while Second Squad detectives continued the investigation and asked witnesses to contact them.

The location is drawing attention because the impact did not happen in the middle of a road crossing. It occurred on the shoulder, beside a stopped vehicle, where a person outside a car can be exposed to traffic moving past at speed. The crash also comes at a time when residents have been watching pedestrian safety in East Northport more closely, especially along major roads that cut through the area.

That concern was sharpened in January, when 81-year-old Pierino Liberta of Saint James was killed while crossing Larkfield Road in East Northport. In that case, police said Liberta was struck in front of 332 Larkfield Road and pronounced dead at the scene. Together, the two cases underscore how severe pedestrian injuries and deaths have recently affected the same part of Suffolk County.

Questions about responsibility for any future fixes may also become part of the discussion. The Town of Huntington says its Highway Department handles town roads, while Suffolk County or New York State oversee county and state roads. Town Line Road’s designation will matter if residents press for changes tied to lighting, roadway design or other safety measures.

For now, investigators are still trying to piece together why Sorto was outside the Accord, how the Volkswagen approached him and what role visibility or speed may have played. The case adds another serious injury to Suffolk County’s ongoing pedestrian-safety toll, and it leaves a teenager behind the wheel of one vehicle and a seriously injured pedestrian in the hospital after a brief roadside stop turned violent.