Advice and condolences after fatal crash of a teenager from Babylon

Leaders of three school communities mourning the death of a Babylon teenager who died in a car crash that injured four others and killed a Lindenhurst man are offering counseling and support services to students and staff so “no one grieves alone.”

Riley Goot, 18, a 2024 graduate of West Babylon High School, was killed along with Michael Desmond, 33, of Lindenhurst in the two-vehicle crash shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of Railroad Avenue and Great East Neck Road in West Babylon, Suffolk police said.

Police said Goot, two other West Babylon High graduates and another teenager were in a 2025 Kia Seltos driven by a 17-year-old woman. Desmond drove a 2017 Kia sedan through a red light and collided with the Seltos, police said in a news release Saturday. Desmond was pronounced dead at the scene.

Medical staff at Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip pronounced Goot dead.

The Kia driver is a 12th grader at St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School, according to a letter from school administrators to the school community on Sunday.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with [the student]her family and all those affected by this tragic event,” wrote school principal Vincent Albrecht in the letter. “We entrust her to the healing power of Christ and the intercession of the Holy Mother, Our Lady of Sorrows, in this time of deep sorrow.”

In a message to the West Babylon school community, Superintendent Yiendhy Farrelly called Saturday's accident a “heartbreaking tragedy.”

“We extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends affected by this tragedy,” Farrelly wrote. “Our hearts break with them as they endure this unimaginable loss.”

The superintendent described Goot as a “promising” young man with “high hopes for the future.”

The school district will offer counseling and support on Monday and encourages community members to come forward if they know others who “might benefit from talking to someone during this difficult time.”

“We are here to make sure no one grieves alone,” the letter says.

Another passenger in the Kia is a 12th-grader from St. Anthony's High School in Huntington, who offered “prayers and thoughts” for the student and his family.

“All of us at Saint Anthony continue to pray for everyone involved in this tragic accident,” said a letter from St. Anthony’s Rector Brother David Anthony Migliorino.

According to Suffolk police, at 1:06 a.m., Desmond was driving the sedan east on Railroad Avenue, ran a red light and collided with the Seltos as it headed south on Great East Neck Road.

The driver and two other passengers, both 18 and West Babylon High School graduates who live in Babylon, were taken to Good Samaritan for treatment of serious injuries. The hospital did not respond to a message Sunday seeking an update on their injuries or whether they remain hospitalized.

The St. Anthony's student, a 16-year-old from West Babylon, was taken to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore with serious injuries. Migliorino said the teen underwent surgery and remains hospitalized.

At least one of the injured teens is a new member of the West Babylon Fire Department, according to fire district records.

The department's first deputy chief, William Allen, said he was the incident commander at the crash scene.

Allen declined to provide details about the people involved in the accident, but acknowledged that it is a big challenge for volunteers to respond to an accident like this in their community.

“We are united as a department and we are here for each other, as always,” Allen said.