UPDATE: Driver who struck Huntley car was traveling 120 mph

On the evening of Sunday, Aug. 6, Patrice Huntley, 60, of Flushing, was driving with five family members in his SUV westbound on Sunrise Highway through Massapequa.

His 18-year-old stepdaughter Brienna, 14-year-old stepson David, 13-year-old daughter Hannah, 10-year-old son Jeremiah, and 6-year-old step-granddaughter, Chantel Solomon, had accompanied him to a water park to celebrate his new job.

As they headed for an ice cream shop, a white car passed them, breathtakingly fast. Shortly after, across from a shopping center at 5598 Sunrise Highway, Patrice Huntley stopped his car at a red light.

Instants later, their car was rear-ended with unimaginable force by a white Hyundai Kona. It flipped onto the top of their SUV, also striking a Chevy Malibu sitting in front of them, and a Hyundai Elantra in front of the Malibu.

Huntley, Hannah, and Jeremiah were pronounced dead at the scene. Brienna, Chantel, David, and the 32-year-old driver whose car had smashed into them were taken to a local hospital. David’s injuries were not life-threatening, but Brienna’s and Chantel’s were.

Hannah and Jeremiah lived with their mother, Tasheba Hamilton-Huntley, in Uniondale, as did little Chantel.

On Friday, at the Nassau County Police Department headquarters in Mineola, Det. Capt. Stephen Fitzpatrick, commanding officer of the Homicide Squad, announced that Michael Deangelo, of N. Monroe Ave. in Lindenhurst, was responsible for the appalling crash.

Investigations revealed that Deangelo was speeding at 120.55 miles per hour when he crashed.

That section of Sunrise Highway has a speed limit of 45 miles per hour.

Blood toxicology showed that Deangelo was driving with cocaine and fentanyl in his system.

“His behavior prior to the accident, his reckless driving, all contributed to causing this accident and killing three people,” Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick corrected the erroneous impression that Deangelo must have been drag racing with the car that first zoomed past the Huntleys.

In fact, Deangelo himself had sped by Huntley’s car, turned briefly into a Speedway station, then reentered the road after the Huntley car had passed. Moments later came the fatal crash.

Deangelo remained in a local hospital awaiting surgery for compound fractures to a lower extremity and internal injuries. However, he was stable and alert, Fitzpatrick said.

“He’s been arrested three times prior,” said Fitzpatrick. “He has two prior DWI arrests. He also has a grand larceny arrest back in 2015. The first DWI was adjudicated to a violation, the second was a misdemeanor, which makes this arrest a felony. … He’s being arraigned right now as we speak at a bedside arraignment, and we’ll find out if he’s remanded or not.”

The charges leveled against Deangelo are three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, one for each fatality; three counts of manslaughter in the second degree, one for each fatality; eight counts of assault; two counts of driving while intoxicated with drugs in his system; and one count of reckless driving.

The 18-year-old had come through several surgeries and was conscious, said Fitzpatrick, but her condition remained critical.

Of six-year-old Chantel Solomon, said Fitzpatrick, “She’s undergoing certain scans and testing to see what brain activity is still left. … We’re still hoping and praying for her.”

Charges against Deangelo would be elevated if Chantel were to die, Fitzpatrick said.

Sadly, Chantel was removed from life support with the permission of her mother on Saturday afternoon, and pronounced dead. Further charges against Deangelo have yet to be announced.

The GoFundMe page started by Hamilton-Huntley and a friend, Raja Shah, can be accessed at https://gofund.me/e44a43c2.