Sayville crash victim sues ex-school superintendent sentenced for vehicular assault

A Sayville motorcyclist who says he was severely injured in a crash that resulted in a felony vehicular assault conviction against former Patchogue-Medford schools superintendent Michael Hynes is suing him for damages, Greater Long Island has learned.

Hynes, 55, of Sayville was sentenced Tuesday to five years probation and fined $1,000 in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead after pleading guilty in December to second-degree vehicular assault.

The former school boss, who most recently served six years as the superintendent of Port Washington schools, was originally charged with driving while intoxicated after police at the scene said he had bloodshot, glassy eyes; slurred speech; and unsteady footing.

Court documents show the personal injury lawsuit was filed by Alberto Fernandez, 63, also of Sayville, stemming from Nov. 24, 2024, crash in which Hynes’ 2019 Honda struck Fernandez’s 2022 Harley Davidson motorcycle at the intersection of Lakeland Avenue and Depot Street in Sayville. The crash occurred at 9:05 p.m. on a Sunday, four days before Thanksgiving.

Fernandez suffered multiple fractures of the sacrum (the triangular bone at the base of the spine), including one extending to the sacral canal, which houses the nerves of the lower body.

He also sustained severely displaced bilateral pelvic fractures with herniation of the urinary bladder, a T-shaped fracture of the right hip socket, and fractures and disc injuries throughout the lumbar spine. Additionally, he suffered left wrist and left ankle fractures and head injuries, court documents show.

Among the most serious and sensitive injuries detailed in the lawsuit are genital trauma, including a penile laceration, a fracture at the base of the penis, crushing injuries to the testicles and a painful pooling of blood in the scrotum.

Fernandez required numerous surgical interventions in the weeks following the crash, court documents show, including a colostomy, percutaneous screw fixation of the sacral fracture, a fusion of the lower spine to the pelvis, repeated surgical cleanings of severe wound infections and drainage procedures in the pelvic area.

He spent the holidays — Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s — in the hospital. In fact, he didn’t return home until Jan. 22, 2025, court records show.

Further, he was readmitted Jan. 31 and spent another 25 days hospitalized, before his transfer to Glen Cove Acute Rehab through March 11. In all — including home services — Fernandez was confined to a bed for at least 138 days.

“The case is worth 10, 20 times more than that,” Odierno said. “It’s just not going to be enough to compensate him.”

A potential avenue for additional recovery, Odierno said, lies in determining where Hynes was drinking before the crash — a question that will be central to upcoming depositions.

If Hynes was served alcohol at an establishment while visibly intoxicated, that business could potentially be held liable.

“If he was drinking at an establishment and they shouldn’t have served him, that’s a possibility,” Odierno said. “But we don’t know that yet because we haven’t had a chance to depose Mr. Hynes.”

Depositions had been on hold pending the resolution of the criminal case, Odierno said. With sentencing now complete, he said he expects to move forward within the next 30 to 60 days. The civil lawsuit complaint was first filed in February 2025.

“Even though he pleaded down the charge … that would be relevant evidence,” Odierno said.

The attorney also noted that the police report assigns fault to Hynes for making a left turn into the path of oncoming traffic, giving the plaintiff the right of way under state Vehicle and Traffic Law. Hynes’ attorneys dispute this saying in court documents that it was Hynes who had to react to an emergency situation.

“At the time of the alleged accident the defendant was faced with a sudden unexpected emergency situation,” the attorneys say in the court documents, “for which he has no liability and accordingly is not chargeable with any negligence since the emergency was unforeseen as a matter of law.

The lawsuit accuses Hynes of negligence, alleging he failed to yield the right of way, failed to make a safe left turn, failed to keep a proper lookout, operated at an excessive rate of speed and drove “while under the influence of alcohol.”

Hynes, through his attorneys at Hammill Croutier Pender Koehler Lawless & Moulton, P.C. of Garden City, denied these allegations in an answer filed in April. Additionally, defense attorneys raised the possibility that Fernandez failed to wear a helmet as a potential partial defense.

On Tuesday, Hynes’ defense attorneys could not be reached for comment.

Hynes earned $352,421 in his final year with Port Washignton in 2024, according to state salary records, and received an additional $191,498 in salary from Port Washinton in 2025.

Over the last six years, state records indicate, Hynes was paid a total of $1.84 million by Port Washington schools.

_{Top: Michael Hynes (GLI file photo)}