The community is praying for a young Mattituck man, home on leave from the Navy, who was critically injured early Sunday after he and another friend from Mattituck were both reportedly struck by a taxi in Montauk.
Stony Brook University Hospital officials confirmed this morning that Benjamin Pileski, 20, is currently in critical condition in the hospital’s surgical intensive care unit.
“We made it through the first night,” Benjamin’s father, Thomas Pileski said. His son, he said, suffered severe head trauma in the accident. “He still has swelling on the brain.”
“Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers,” his brother Zach wrote on his Facebook page. “He’s a fighter but we can use all the help we can to get through this.”
According to East Hampton Town Police Capt. Chris Anderson, the accident took place at 3:09 a.m. on Montauk Highway in Montauk Village, when a taxi traveling westbound struck two pedestrians, who were heading from the south side of the roadway. No charges were filed in the accident, Anderson said.
Cutchogue resident Susan Tyler, whose son Justin Tyler was with Benjamin at the time of the accident, which took place at 3 a.m. on Montauk Highway in Montauk, said both young men were crossing the street when they were struck by a taxi, which allegedly came around a bend and struck Benjamin first, then Justin.
Another friend who was stepping off the curb, saw him at the last second, Tyler said. “He opened his mouth to yell and before he could get a sound out, the van hit them,” Tyler said.
According to Pileski, his son was walking near the Montauk traffic circle when he was struck, along with Tyler. Two other friends with them were unhurt, Pileski said.
Facing a parent’s worst nightmare, Pileski said, “It’s terrible. I’ve can’t even think. But I have to be strong for him.”
He added, “It’s going to be a long road, with ups and downs.”
Doctors have told him, Pileski said, that the next three days are critical, with his son feverish and pressure in his brain spiking. A bolt is currently in place to drain the fluid from his brain and allow it room to swell, he said.
“He’s definitely not out of the woods,” Pileski said. But, he said, “The doctor is optimistic because he’s young and very strong. That’s a very good plus.”
Benjamin, he said, has worked since he was 13 on David Steele’s farm in Mattituck, and currently, serves his nation proudly in the Navy.
“He just came home on leave, and this is what happens,” Pileski said.
When the phone rang at 3 a.m., Pileski was faced with the unthinkable. “When I got that call, I couldn’t believe it. I don’t know what to do. When you’re not in control, you feel so helpless.”
Tyler’s son suffered a mild concussion, slight skull fracture, a small amount of blood on his brain, and scrapes. she said.
Benjamin has been home since Thursday on leave from the Navy; he was supposed to return today. Both he and Justin Tyler are Class of 2013 Mattituck High School graduates.
Benjamin’s mother, Gwen DeFriest, posted a photo of her son with his grandmother Grace on the Remembering Riverhead Facebook page. “This is my son, Ben Pileski, with his grandmother, Grace Defriest, at Navy boot camp graduation this past winter. My dad, Richard DeFriest, would have been proud as heck. Saturday night Ben was hit by a car and is in critical condition. Please, he needs prayers. Thank you,” she wrote.
DeFriest, who now lives in Riverhead, said she was in Chicago this weekend when she received frantic messages on her cell phone after the accident and raced to the airport, where she boarded the first available American Airlines flight. Flight attendants were sympathetic and allowed her to disembark the plane first, she said.
She headed straight to her son’s bedside at Stony Brook. “It was indescribable. You never want to see your child helpless like that. It’s so out of your control,” she said.
Surrounded by love and prayers, DeFriest said the community’s support helps immeasurably. “There are people who knew my dad and my great-grandfather; they farmed together and went to church together. It’s literally family.”
Another woman, whose son went through boot camp with hers, called to let Navy officials know about the accident, so Benjamin wouldn’t be listed as AWOL. “There are people all over the country praying — the power of prayer,” she said.
DeFriest said Facebook has helped unite all those who love her son in prayer and support.
Reflecting on her son, Defriest said he’s a “ham” and a “cutup. He’s got crinkly eyes when he smiles and a huge grin. Everyone loves him. Even when he wouldn’t follow directions in school, the teachers would call, but they’d say, ‘But we all love him. He’s a great kid.'”
Today, she said, “he’s doing such great things with the Navy.”
The next 72 hours, DeFriest agreed, are the most important. “He’s weathered storms. Right now, it’s prayers, just prayers. We need the prayers to get his eyes open. And then we’ll deal with what comes after.”
Another Facebook group, Kait’s Angels, formed when Kaitlyn Doorhy lost her life tragically after being struck by a car while away at college in August, is coming together to help another beloved young Mattituck High School graduate.
“Calling all angels,” a post written Sunday read. “Early this morning, one of Mattituck’s own, Ben Pileski, was struck by a car in Montauk and is in critical condition. It’s a waiting game at this point and he and his family are in need of all your angel prayers and positive energy. Kait, please watch over this young man and guide him back to us.”
Added Brittany Tumulty, “Hey Kait, Please watch over Ben and help him pull through from this terrible accident. He needs you to help him fight this. Thank you, my angel.”
Many others have turned to social media to help spread the message and ask for prayers for a young man beloved by his family and many friends.
