UPDATE: Vet, Kings Park Native Killed After Birthday Celebration in Smithtown Accident

Rain soaked the makeshift memorial on Monday morning that has been erected for Seamus Byrne, an army veteran who received the Purple Heart for his service in Afghanistan who was killed early Sunday morning as he was trying to cross a section of Main Street in Smithtown.

Byrne was a resident of Smithtown who grew up in Kings Park – he graduated from Kings Park High School in 1997 – where his family has been for generations and still remain.

Friends say Byrne was leaving a party in honor of his 33rd birthday  Sunday when he was hit by a 1998 Honda driven by Michael Armentano, 24, of Smithtown at approximately 1:45 a.m.

According to Detective Sergeant Ed Compagnone of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Fourth Precinct, Byrne was crossing Main Street when he was struck. He was taken by ambulance to Stony Brook University where he was pronounced dead. Byrne’s wife Michelle was present at the time the accident occurred.

Armentano, who was not charged in the incident, was questioned and released by police.

This location was the scene of another fatal accident that occurred two years ago where 11-year-old Courtney Snipes was struck and killed. The driver, Maureen Lambert, was high on heroin at the time of the accident and was charged with vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident. Lambert was sentenced to 4 to 12 years in jail.

Byrne leaves behind a wife, his 10-year-old son, Seamus and his three-year-old daughter Ashley. Funeral arrangements are being made by Clayton Funeral Home of Kings Park but have not been completed yet.