Long Island high school basketball coach dies in a car crash

William Floyd boys basketball coach Darrell Sumpter was killed in a collision on Friday

Darrell Sumpter, an assistant coach with the William Floyd boys varsity basketball coach since 2015 and instrumental figure in founding of the WFSD Youth Basketball Program, was killed in a car crash on Friday. / William Floyd School District

As first reported by Newsday, Darrell Sumpter, an assistant coach for the William Floyd varsity boys basketball team, was killed in a car crash on Friday.

The William Floyd School District announced that Sumpter died in the accident on Sunrise Highway, Long Island Friday afternoon, in a Saturday morning post on the district web site.

Sumpter, 51, graduated from WFSD and served as an assistant coach with the boys basketball team since 2015.

WFSD noted that Sumpter was “instrumental” in the inception of the WFSD youth basketball program and booster club.

“(It) has made a difference in the lives of so many boys’ and girls’ student-athletes within our community,” noted in WFSD’s release.

The WFSD made the following comments about Sumpter’s passing:

“Mr. Sumpter was a longtime community member, a family man, and a highly-regarded coach and mentor for our boys’ and girls’ basketball programs. Colleagues, fellow coaches and social workers met with the boys' and girls' teams yesterday to share this tragic news. We will continue to have grief and crisis counselors available for any students who may need them. Members of the William Floyd school community have also reached out to the Sumpter family and will continue to offer any support that is needed in the coming days and weeks. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Sumpter’s family, friends, and all of the student-athletes who loved and cared for him.”

Following the announcement, the William Floyd youth basketball, JV and varsity boys and girls basketball games were canceled on Saturday.

A Suffolk County Police Department report stated that Sumpter was driving a 2002 Cadillac in the left westbound lane of Sunrise Highway between Horseblock Road and William Floyd Parkway on Friday afternoon.

That’s when “the vehicle swerved and struck” a 2021 Ford utility truck that was traveling in the right lane, the report noted.

Both vehicles left the road and overturned, authorities said. Two individuals in the truck were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.