Thomas Lobianco charged with driving while ability impaired in crash that killed construction worker, seriously injured two others at site of Nesconset repaving

A driver who struck and killed a construction worker and injured two others at a work zone on a Nesconset road Monday morning has been charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs and may have ingested marijuana minutes before the crash, Suffolk police said. 

Speaking at a news conference at police headquarters in Yaphank, Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said video surveillance showed the driver, Thomas Lobianco, 26, of Lake Ronkonkoma, sitting in his 1999 Toyota Camry for about 20 minutes early Monday morning after he finished an overnight shift at a 7-Eleven convenience store about a mile away, during which time he may have ingested the drug. Observations made at the crash scene by a police drug recognition expert indicated he was impaired, Catalina said. 

Catalina said Lobianco drove east in a westbound lane of Townline Road toward the work zone near the Terry Road intersection and may have been speeding. According to a police release, at around 6:40 a.m. Lobianco drove through a red light and onto a sidewalk, where he hit the three construction workers. He then hit an electronic crossing sign, a utility pole and a fence, according to the release.

The three men were contractors working for Suffolk County on a paving project. They were transported to Stony Brook University Hospital. Joel Sicon-Porix, 38, of Mastic, was pronounced dead and Kevin Chavez-Sarmiento, 30, of Bay Shore, and Jose Gonzalez-Colindres, 33, of Brentwood, were admitted for treatment of injuries, according to police.

Glendis Zacarias, wife of Sicon-Porix, said in a phone interview one of his co-workers had visited her house to tell her he had died. 

Zacarias said in Spanish the couple sometimes spoke about work zone dangers.

“He would talk about how fast cars speed, and I would always tell him, ‘Be careful, look around because a crazy driver could run you over.’ Now, what we feared became reality."

They have two sons, ages 15 and 8, and a 12-year-old daughter.

“They’re having a tough time," she said. She worried how they will manage without him. “In one instant another person can snatch your life away ... I don’t really understand. There are people who just don’t care about working people. That was his life, just working every day. He would wake up early or work nights. He was always responsible and he was always there for us."

Wendy Moran, of Brentwood, a relative of Gonzalez-Colindres, said in a phone interview he had gone into surgery Monday morning.

“Now we are waiting," she said. “It’s horrible."

Lobianco will be held at the Sixth Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday at First District Court in Central Islip.

It was unclear Monday if Lobianco has a lawyer. Newsday was unable to reach family members of Lobianco on Long Island.

Catalina said police would increase traffic enforcement after the crash.

"Somebody lost their life today and two others are severely injured," he said. "It’s terrible. That kind of behavior on a roadway is not going to be tolerated by us."

Kevin DaPonte, director of environmental health and safety for Rosemar, the East Moriches paving company doing the work at the site, said the crew hadn’t started working when the driver hit them.

"They were just getting their stuff ready to walk down the road," he said. "The car came out of nowhere and hit them on the sidewalk."

DaPonte declined to share personal details about the man who died but said he "was a great employee" who had been at the company for a long time."

"He will be missed," he said.

The workers who remained at the scene were speaking with detectives.

"Everyone is doing OK for the most part. They’re still very distraught about it," DaPonte said.

Within hours of the crash, an industry leader called for tougher enforcement to protect road workers' lives.

"Today’s tragedy in Nesconset is a painful reminder that road workers are among the most vulnerable people on Long Island’s highways," said Marc Herbst, executive director of the Long Island Contractors’ Association, the regional trade association of the heavy construction industry, in a statement. "We mourn this worker and pray for his colleagues’ recovery. But mourning isn’t enough — we need stronger work zone enforcement, expanded speed camera coverage, and real consequences for drivers who put crews at risk. No paving job is worth a life."

Rosemar holds or has won multiple state and county road paving or procurement contracts, according to municipal records. 

Townline Road falls under county jurisdiction from Route 347 on the west to Nicolls Road on the east, carrying a daily traffic volume of about 9,600 vehicles, according to New York State Department of Transportation data. The posted speed limit just west of the Terry Road intersection is 35 mph.

New York State transportation officials have long recognized work zone crashes, often exacerbated by speeding, as an occupational hazard for construction workers.  In 2025, there were 33 work zone intrusions on Long Island state roads that resulted in injuries to five DOT workers, Newsday has reported, and 600 work zone crashes statewide roads maintained by the state DOT and Thruway Authority, according to a state report. 

A state program, Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement, generated 600,000 notices of violation in just three years. During the program’s first 12 months, from May 2023 to May 2024, 40% — over 54,000 of citations — came from Nassau and Suffolk counties, Newsday has reported.

Since 1939, at least 59 transportation workers have died on the job statewide, according to the DOT.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misidentified the police commissioner of Suffolk County. He is Kevin Catalina.