Tribute grows at Miller Place Duck Pond for teen hospitalized in crash

A growing display of support has taken shape along the at the Miller Place Duck Pond, where dozens of heartfelt handwritten signs now hang in honor of a 14-year-old boy critically injured in a bicycle crash this week.

Classmates, friends and neighbors have filled the wrought iron fence along the pond with messages of encouragement for Andrew Salgado, a Miller Place eighth-grade student and varsity soccer player who remains hospitalized in critical condition after colliding on his bike with a truck Tuesday on Route 25A.

The tribute, just feet away from Salgado’s North Country Middle School, has become a focal point for a community rallying around the Salgado family as the teen faces multiple surgeries and a long recovery.

The Miller Place PTA amplified the effort on Facebook, urging residents to contribute and keep the family in their thoughts.

“We were heartbroken to hear of this accident, and are keeping Andrew in our thoughts for a full recovery,” the PTA wrote. “Every donation helps support Andrew & the Salgado family in his recovery.”

The business said all proceeds from the day’s sales will be given to the family

Salgado was injured after school on Tuesday, about 3:20 p.m., while riding east on the shoulder of Route 25A when his bicycle struck the passenger-side door of a westbound Ford F-550 that was turning left into L Delea & Sons Sod Farms, police said.

The driver, a 58-year-old Sound Beach man, remained at the scene and called 911, police said. He was not injured.

_{Top: Handwritten signs of encouragement for Andrew Salgado are displayed along the wrought iron fence at the Miller Place Duck Pond near where the boy attends middle school (Brian Harmon photo) and Salgado (inset, courtesy of GoFundMe).}