There wasn't a shortage of hard-hitting news stories this year and Patch was ready and available to cover the news you need and want to read. Here are the 10 most read stories from the year in order from the most read and down.
1.
Police said the father of a 4-year-old boy abandoned him and fled arresting officers after the man he was riding with got pulled over for driving under the influence of drugs.
2.
An East Northport man killed his ex-girlfriend and mother of his child in March, before taking his own life in an apparent murder-suicide, police said.
3. VIDEO: Attacked Student Questions School Response
Smithtown High School West student Gabrielle Petagna took administrators and the school board to task in January for failing to react following a brutal school bathroom attack that has left her physically and emotionally scarred.
4. Dead Body Found in Short Beach Car Fire
A body found in the car fire in March at Short Beach in Nissequogue was so extensively damaged that authorities could not even identify the sex while at the scene, police said.
5. Shooting Threat Written on Smithtown West Bathroom Wall
Former Superintendent Edward Ehmann said in March that “a student reported that somebody had written a threatening comment in a girl’s bathroom at High School West. The comment stated they were going to shoot up the school on March 9."
6. Two-Car Wreck Closes 25A in St. James
Suffolk County Police said two people were injured in a car accident that shut Route 25A in St. James on April 3.
7.
Nesconset, St. James, Kings Park and Smithtown Fire Departments were on scene July 23 at Pick of the Litter, closing Main Street from Landing Avenue to Route 111.
8. Man Killed by Train in St. James
A man died in St. James on Oct. 23 after he was struck by a full eastbound train approaching the station platform, Metropolitan Transportation Authority police said.
9. Motorcyclist Dead Following Monday Morning Accident
A Smithtown mototcyclist was killed after crashing into another vehicle July 9 on Landing Avenue in Smithtown.
10. Police Identify Man Killed in Early Saturday Hit-and-Run
Suffolk County police have identified Thomas Wik Jr., 23, of Nesconset as the man killed after being hit by a car in Hauppauge Sept. 29.
