Police identify two men killed in Sunken Meadow Parkway toll plaza crashes

A Fort Salonga man and a Kings Park man died in separate fiery crashes at the park entrance one week apart

State police have identified the two men killed a week apart in separate one-car crashes at the Sunken Meadow State Parkway toll plaza in September.

Vijay P. Cheema, 74, of Fort Salonga, died in the first crash on Sept. 14 and Gregory Salone, 70, of Kings Park, died in the second crash on Sept. 21, according to police.

Both crashes happened at the exact same spot — the toll booth area at the entrance to Sunken Meadow State Park, which is located at the northern end of the parkway in Smithtown.

While investigators determined that Cheema died by suicide, the cause of the crash that killed Salone remains under investigation.

The first crash happened about 11:14 a.m. on Sept. 14, a Monday. Troopers responding to the scene found the car engulfed in flames.

The damage was so extensive that investigators could not immediately identify the victim or the make and model of the vehicle, police said.

On Sept. 21, at about 1:04 p.m., state cops were back a the same location, responding to the one-vehicle wreck involving Salone. That car also caught fire, and one person was found dead inside.

State police have not said whether the two crashes are connected.

Funeral services were held last month for Cheema at Moloney’s Lake Funeral Home & Cremation Center in Ronkonkoma.

Heartbroken friends mourned Cheema on Facebook after his death.

Gurmeet Grewal wrote that he first met Cheema when they were in school together in 1965, and that the two became close friends in the early 1990s.

“Very saddened to hear Vijay’s passing,” Grewal wrote, offering condolences to Cheema’s family.

Yagya Valik Kapila wrote that he loved Cheema like a younger brother.

“I am shocked to hear this sad news,” Kapila wrote. “His affectionate Bhaji sound will always be in my memory.”

Bhaji is a Punjabi term of respect for an older brother.

Kapila offered his condolences to Cheema’s wife and family, writing that he prays Cheema’s soul will rest in eternal peace with Waheguru, the Sikh name for God.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day.

_{Top: Both crashed happened at the Sunken Meadow toll plaza (GLI file photo/Mike White).}