Nearby: Man Killed After SUV Crashes Into Harbor

This article was written by Pam Robinson. 

A Huntington Station man was killed Saturday night when his SUV left the road and plummeted into Huntington Harbor. 

Suffolk County police said Sunday that Edward Franz was driving a 2005 Chevrolet Suburban south on West Shore Road in Huntington when he apparently lost control of the vehicle on a curve about 5:25 p.m.  The Suburban struck a guardrail, became airborne, rolled over and landed upside down in approximately six feet of water in Huntington Harbor. 

Good Samaritans were able to rescue the passenger, Liam O’Mara, by breaking  through a window and pulling him to safety.  Police Officers Jeffrey Michaels, Robert Musial, John Murray, John Dreyer, Charles Marchiselli, and members from the Huntington Fire Department, pulled Franz, 29, from the vehicle. He was taken to Huntington Hospital where he was pronounced dead.  

O’Mara, 20, of Huntington, as well as Officers Michaels, Musial, Murray and Dreyer, and one of the good Samaritans, Nicholas Lamanna, 38, of Center Moriches, were transported to Huntington Hospital where they were treated and released.  Lamanna’s brother, Joseph Lamanna, 34, also of Center Moriches, broke his hand when he attempted to break one of the windows on the vehicle.  He was also transported to Huntington Hospital where he was treated and released.  

The other two rescuers, Pete Keller, 43, of Huntington, and Michael Fodera, 20, of Elwood, were not injured.

The investigation is continuing.  At the time of the crash, the road was wet due to rain. 

Meanwhile, funeral services were set for Franz. Visitation for the Whitman High School graduate is set for Tuesday from 2-4 and 7 p.m., and Wednesday, from 3-5 and 7-9 p.m. at A. L. Jacobsen Funeral Home, at  1380 New York Ave., Huntington Station. A Mass of Christian Burial is scheduled for Thursday at 9:30 a.m. at St. Elizabeth  Church 175 Wolf Hill Road, Melville.