Matthew Schneider was driving eastbound along Express Drive South early Tuesday morning when his vehicle drifted off the roadway near Maple Avenue. His 2018 Chevrolet Express van struck a tree and flipped over onto its roof around 3:10 a.m. For more than two hours, the 26-year-old sat inside the wrecked vehicle in the dark along the quiet shoulder. No emergency calls came in to local dispatchers while the van lay hidden off the main road.
It was not until 5:28 a.m. that a commuter driving past noticed the overturned vehicle and dialed 911. Emergency responders arrived at the crash site in Holbrook shortly after the call. First responders checked on Schneider, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Schneider lived in Selden, a suburban community located in Suffolk County on Long Island. At 26 years old, he was well known among family and friends who woke up Tuesday to news of the sudden crash. The stretch of road where the wreck occurred runs right alongside the Long Island Expressway, a corridor heavily traveled by local residents every day.
Detectives from the Suffolk County Police Sixth Squad took charge of the scene once medical crews confirmed the fatality. Officers marked off the area around Maple Avenue to measure tire marks and map out the trajectory of the van. While Express Drive South carries steady traffic during peak hours, the area remains dark and lightly traveled in the middle of the night.
Police impounded Schneider’s Chevrolet Express van for a routine safety check. Mechanics and investigators will examine the steering, brakes, and tires to determine if mechanical trouble caused the vehicle to veer off course. At this point in the investigation, police do not believe any second vehicle was involved.
Loved ones are now coming to terms with the loss of a young man whose routine drive ended in tragedy. The gap of over two hours between the crash and the initial 911 call has added to the heartbreak for those close to him. Neighbors and friends in Selden have spent the day leaning on one another as word of the accident spreads.
Suffolk County police continue to ask anyone who was driving on Express Drive South around 3:00 a.m. Tuesday to contact investigators. Anyone with information about the crash can reach Sixth Squad detectives directly at 631-854-8652.
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