Suffolk County remembers Detective Carmine Macchia on 48th anniversary of death
Suffolk police marked the 48th anniversary of Detective Carmine Macchia’s death, recalling a stolen-car pursuit that ended in a Lindenhurst crash and his death at 32.
The Suffolk County Police Department and the county’s police union marked the 48th anniversary of Detective Carmine Macchia’s death by returning to the crash that took his life in Lindenhurst and the risks that still come with pursuit work. Macchia died on June 15, 1978, after a stolen-vehicle chase that began late the night before, when First Precinct officers pursued a suspect vehicle across the east end of the county.
The pursuit started about 11:30 p.m. on June 14, 1978. Macchia and Police Officer Al Sabia were riding in an unmarked police car when it collided with a truck and another police vehicle at Straight Path and Sunrise Highway. Macchia later died from the injuries he suffered in that crash. The Suffolk County Police Memorial Fund identifies Sabia as the other officer in Macchia’s vehicle.
Macchia was 32 years old and had seven years of service with the Suffolk County Police Department. Before joining Suffolk, he served with the New York City Transit Police Department. The Officer Down Memorial Page records his end of watch as Thursday, June 15, 1978, and lists the fatal incident as an automobile accident during a high-speed pursuit with a suspect in Copiague.
The Suffolk County PBA memorial page lists Carmine M. Macchia among the department’s fallen members, placing his death within a larger history of line-of-duty losses that continue to shape the department’s identity. In its remembrance, the PBA said that on June 15, 1978, Macchia was tragically killed in the line of duty and that, even after nearly five decades, “the dangers of police work remain constant.”
That message carries modern relevance in Suffolk County, where pursuit policy, officer safety and the cost of split-second decisions remain under constant scrutiny. Macchia’s death, tied to a stolen-vehicle chase on local roads in Lindenhurst, stands as a reminder that every pursuit carries risks not just for officers, but for the drivers, passengers and bystanders who may be caught in its path.
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