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On Tuesday, Dec. 26, Nassau County Police announced that 25-year-old James Ryder of Farmingdale and 34-year-old Anthony Diomede of Levittown were the two victims killed in a Hempstead crash that happened days before.
Earlier Report - Double-Fatal Crash: Car Strikes 3 Vehicles After Fleeing From Earlier Collision In Hempstead
It was just after 11 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 22 when Ryder and Diomede, who were driving east in a 2005 Chrysler on Fulton Avenue, collided with a 2021 Genesis carrying four people at Hilton Avenue.
The Chrysler fled the scene of the original crash, continuing east on Fulton, running a red light at Main Street, and hitting three other cars: a 2023 Kia, a 2007 Honda, and a 2020 Toyota.
Nassau County Police said that the collision caused the Chrysler to go up in flames, killing Ryder and Diomede at the scene.
Four people in the 2020 Toyota — one 6-year-old boy, an 8-year-old girl, and two women aged 44 and 23 — were injured and taken to a nearby hospital.
Their identities have not been released.
In a GoFundMe post raising money for Ryder’s family after his passing, the man was remembered as “an amazing and beloved son, grandson boyfriend, nephew, cousin, friend, and just overall individual.”
“We unexpectedly lost [him] too soon,” his cousin Cassidy Tomas wrote in the fundraiser post, which has garnered nearly $25,000 in the three days it has been active.
Ryder’s cousin, Michael Lapine, wrote on Facebook that the young man’s sudden death has taught their family an important lesson.
“Suddenly, being together was more important than ever,” he said, “As tragic as the situation is, I take solace in knowing that, no matter how spread across the country we are, we will always come together at times like these.”
Click here to view the GoFundMe.
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