An unidentified driver died in a fiery blaze after crashing into the historic Quaker Meeting House in Manhasset early on Thursday morning, June 19, according to Nassau County police.
Detective Lt. Scott Skrynecki, the public information officer for the Nassau County Police Department, said the police are working to identify the driver whose body was “badly burned” and pronounced dead at the scene.
“Because of the condition of the body, we have yet to confirm the identity of the driver,” Skrynecki said.
The car is registered to a 41-year-old New Rochelle man, but police are working to identify if the driver who died is also the registered owner, according to police.
Police said that at about 5:21 a.m., the driver of the vehicles was traveling north on Shelter Rock Road in Manhasset when he or she ran through the intersection at Northern Boulevard and onto the landmarked Quaker Meeting House property.
The car then struck the building at a high speed, erupting into flames which spread to the building, police said.
The Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department, along with fire departments from Great Neck, Plandome, and Port Washington, responded to the scene to extinguish the fire.
Skrynecki said the cause of the accident is still under investigation by police.
“The weather conditions this morning, it was foggy,” Skrynecki said. “Whether that was part of the accident is under investigation.”
There are traffic cameras at the intersection of Shelter Rock Road and Northern Boulevard, which Skrynecki said detectives are reviewing. He said they will also review private property cameras from nearby stores.
No other vehicles were involved in the incident, and nobody was inside the building at the time of the crash. Only one person, the driver, was in the vehicle.
A member of the Quaker meeting house, Dick Lopez, said the part of the building the car struck was an addition to the original building. He said the building is used as a religious meeting place, for homeschooling, and for other arts and culture programs.
“It’s a special place and we’re here every Sunday,” Lopez said. “It’s a nice place.”
The meeting house at 1421 Northern Blvd., which holds religious meetings every Sunday, is on the National Register of Historic Places. It received the designation in 2009.
The Quaker meeting house was established by the Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers, in 1702, but its first building was built at the site in 1720. This building was torn down in 1812, and a new meeting house was erected, which is the current standing building.
Damage was done to the building, which is being assessed by officials.
