East End Report: Amagansett Manslaughter Case to Start Next Month

Happenings across the East End the week of April 30.

Southampton Town Police Detective Sgt. Lisa Costa identified the driver who crashed into a tree on North Haven and died as Charles F. Edwards, 56, of Calverton. 

Edwards, who was behind the wheel of a Helen’s Greenhouses and Flower Farm Izuzu delivery truck, lost his leg. "The point of impact was on the driver's side," Costa said, adding that his leg was severed in the accident. 

The manslaughter case against a young man whose pregnant 19-year-old fiancée died when their motorcycle crashed in Amagansett nearly two years ago is headed to trial.

Matthew J. Byank, of Manorville, was speeding away from an officer when his sport bike hit a utility pole on the Napeague stretch on May 24, 2010, according to East Hampton Town police. Lauren M. Parris, of Mastic Beach, was thrown about 80 feet from the bike, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office said.

Suffolk County Legislator Jay Scheiderman said this week he was heartened by Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone's announcement at a press conference this week that he pledged to have two controversial homeless sex offender trailers shuttered by the end of the year.

At a press conference on Thursday, Bellone also discussed plans suggested by Schneiderman to move the Westhampton trailer back from its current site, away from a residential area, and implement other interim measures including security cameras and new fencing.

The Village of Westhampton Dunes has won the title of best restored beach in the nation in an ASPBA contest that celebrates past winners of it's annual Best Restored Beaches Across America contest, which West Hampton Dunes won three years ago.

Local farmers say they dodged a bullet on Monday, managing to escape unscathed despite frost warnings. Mother Nature had another trick up her sleeve on Sunday night, when the National Weather Service forecasters predicted freezing temperatures through Monday morning.

"We dodged a bullet," said Rich Olsen-Harbich, of Bedell Cellars in Cutchogue. He added that the vines at the winery are older and break out later, but still, they escaped unscathed, despite a recorded temperature of 35 degrees fahrenheit at the vineyard Sunday night. "Some of the ends of the rows on the lower sections have some slight leaf damage, but all in all, we're in good shape," he said.