DA: Trio Staged Accident to Cover Up West Islip Hit-and-Run

A North Babylon man who struck West Islip teen Ryan McCarthy with his car and then fled the scene attempted to cover up the incident by staging another accident, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said Wednesday, as new details emerged in the New Year's Eve crash. 

“In an attempt to cover his crime defendant [Kristofer] Busching engages the help of his two accomplices in a scheme that amongst other things involves the theft of a side view mirror from another car similar to the defendant’s which was lost because of the original collision with Mr. McCarthy," Spota said in a press release. 

Spota said Busching, 25, and his passenger, Carlo Caamano, and Alicia Santamaria, Busching’s girlfriend, then rolled "the car into the woods claiming an argument caused the driver to become distracted."

McCarthy, 17, remains in critical condition at Good Samaritan Hospital, Suffolk police said Wednesday. 

Accoridng to a Newsday article published last week, Busching told police that he struck the teen because he believed McCarthy or another man had thrown something at his 2012 Chrysler 300. Busching, Newsday reported, said he meant to scare the two men by driving at them when he struck McCarthy, who was found lying unconscious on Udall Road after the crash.  

Busching, Caamano and Santamaria were arrested on Jan. 6 and they were each hit with upgraded charges under a grand jury indictment unsealed on Wednesday. 

Busching is charged with first degree assault, punishable by up to 25 years in prison, second degree assault, punishable by up to seven years, as well as felony counts of leaving the scene an accident and tampering with physical evidence. 

Caamano and Santamaria, both of Bay Shore, are charged with two counts of tampering with physical evidence and one count of second degree hindering prosecution, felonies punishable by up to four years in prison. 

At a press conference Wednesday, Spota also detailed two other recent hit-and-run crashes, including one in Riverhead on Dec. 28 in which an alleged drunk driver struck and killed a man who was out to dinner to celebrate his 50th birthday. 

Spota called for tougher penalties for those who flee the scene of an accident that results in death or serious injury.

"People just aren't stopping anymore," Spota said. "There should be more serious consequences for leaving the scene."

Lisa Finn contributed to this article.