News

RHS grad killed in car wreck

Andrew Droskoski

A 28-year-old Riverhead man died early Sunday when his car veered off the road and struck a tree in Calverton, authorities said.

At about 5:30 a.m., Andrew Droskoski was headed north on Fresh Pond Avenue when he lost control of his 1989 Cadillac, crossed the southbound lane and drove into the tree. Police this week were investigating the cause of the crash.

Mr. Droskoski, a freelance film producer and 2000 graduate of Riverhead High School, recently moved home to be with his mother, Marjorie, after his father, James Sr., died two years ago, according to his older brother, James Jr., of Centerport. He described his younger brother as a free spirit who enjoyed snowboarding and riding ATVs in his spare time.

Andrew’s work as a television producer for reality shows, including The Apprentice, took him all over the country, following such stars as Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne. He later traveled to Canada, Italy and Nigeria documenting ex-boxer turned kickboxer Patrick A.I. Nwamu.

James Droskoski described his brother as a family-oriented man, recalling how Andrew had tended to him after a recent surgery.

“He was the one person you could always count on,” he said.

He noted that Andrew had taken over their father’s passion for pickling vegetables, trying to recreate the family’s secret, blue ribbon-winning recipes after James Sr. died in 2008. Andrew was also very fond of his three-legged cat, Tripod, James said.

In addition to his mother and brother James, Andrew Droskoski is survived by another brother, Bradley, of Center Moriches, and two stepsisters, Kimberly Ann Kelly Ford and Debra Armstrong, both of Florida.

Visiting hours were Wednesday at McLaughlin Heppner Funeral Home in Riverhead. A funeral mass is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. today, Thursday, April 22, at St. John the Evangelist R.C. Church in Riverhead. Interment will follow at Yaphank Cemetery.

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