A 19-year-old passenger from Mastic Beach was killed Monday night when she was thrown from a motorcycle on the Napeague stretch in Amagansett. Police said her fiancé, Matthew J. Byank of Manorville, had been speeding away from a patrol car.

Morgan McGivern
Matthew J. Byank's motorcycle was reduced to pieces, which are being stored at the East Hampton Town police impound yard.

Mr. Byank, also 19, has been charged with unlawfully fleeing a police officer in the first degree, a felony, driving with a suspended license, and numerous traffic infractions. He is being held on $25,000 cash or $50,000 bond at the Suffolk County jail in Riverside. He entered a plea of not guilty on Tuesday. Further charges are pending.

The night began when Mr. Byank and his longtime girlfriend and new fiancée, Lauren M. Parris, decided to take "a pleasure cruise" to Montauk, East Hampton Town Detective Sgt. Chris Anderson said. The couple had recently learned that Ms. Parris was pregnant.

They were on their way home when Town Police Officer Bradley Rozzi, who was monitoring westbound traffic on Montauk Highway in Montauk, noticed a motorcycle speed by near Second House Road sometime before 9:30 p.m., according to charges filed Tuesday in East Hampton Town Justice Court.

Chief Todd Sarris said that the officer turned on his emergency lights and sirens and tried to pull the motorcycle over, but that the driver accelerated and sped away, heading west on the highway. Chief Sarris said the officer almost immediately lost sight of the 2006 Suzuki and radioed to patrol officers in Amagansett to look for it as he continued west in pursuit.

The officer came upon the crash several miles west of where he had originally tried to pull Mr. Byank over, on Napeague just east of Dolphin Drive. Ms. Parris was on the ground. The Suzuki was broken apart in pieces, police said.

Preliminary evidence indicates, detectives said, that Mr. Byank lost control of the motorcycle and crossed the eastbound lane. The motorcycle struck a utility pole on the south side of the highway, breaking into mangled pieces of metal.

Detective Anderson said it was not clear whether the riders fell off when the motorcycle struck the pole or when Mr. Byank "laid the bike down" on the ground. Both were wearing helmets.

Ms. Parris was not breathing when officers arrived, and they performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on her at the scene. The Amagansett Ambulance Company transported her and Mr. he was pronounced dead a short time later.

"This was in no way, shape, or form a close pursuit," Chief Sarris said. "However, there's no question in my mind he was fleeing." Witnesses said that Mr. Byank continued speeding down the Napeague stretch, passing cars along the way, according to the chief.

In addition to the criminal charges, he was issued nine traffic tickets, including driving without a motorcycle license. Three tickets are for speeding; they say he was traveling between 60 and 85 miles per hour. Mr. Byank was also ticketed for passing, failing to keep right, and having an expired inspection, police said. The motorcycle was registered in his name through 2011.

Detective Anderson said drugs or alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the accident. The investigation is continuing.

Mr. Byank was treated for injuries and released into police custody. When he was arraigned in Justice Court on Tuesday afternoon, he stood before Justice Lisa R. Rana in green hospital scrubs and with his arm in a sling. Tad M. Scharfenberg, who has offices in Bohemia and East Hampton, said his client had a fractured collarbone, a badly sprained ankle, and numerous scrapes and cuts. Mr. Byank walked out of court with a limp.

"Without a doubt, this is a horrible tragedy, not just for everyone else but also for him," Mr. Scharfenberg told Justice Rana at Mr. Byank's arraignment. After the proceeding, he said his client was "crestfallen. His heart is broken. This was a woman he was in love with."

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A photograph on Facebook showed Matthew J. Byank and his fiancée, Lauren M. Parris, who was killed when the motorcycle they were on crashed Monday night.

The prosecution was not in court for his arraignment, but recommended that bail be set at $50,000, Justice Rana said. Mr. Scharfenberg said that his client's family could only pool together between $5,000 and $7,500.

He said his client was a lifelong resident of Suffolk County and had worked at Jiffy Lube in Shirley since February, and before that at Hampton Oil Change in Southampton.

"Not to minimize this at all . . . but the injury should not be a factor here," he told Justice Rana.

Justice Rana said that this "was a very serious situation" and that, given that it involved a fatality, "I cannot just dismiss that fact."

Unlawfully fleeing a police officer is usually levied in the third degree, which is a misdemeanor, but in the case of a third party's death, it is upgraded to the first degree and considered a class D felony.

In setting bail closer to the prosecution's recommendation, Justice Rana said that the Suffolk County Court in Central Islip had a bench warrant out for Mr. Byank's arrest. Mr. Scharfenberg said it involved a traffic infraction and had been recalled.

Mr. Scharfenberg asked that his client's injuries be considered as a reason for "more reasonable bail," as jail is "one of the worst places" to get medical treatment. He also asked if Justice Rana would consider releasing his client with a monitoring or G.P.S. device.

She declined, but said that he could make an application at a future date.

Mr. Scharfenberg said the Byanks "don't know that they can make the bail. Twenty-five thousand dollars is a lot for a hard-working family in Suffolk."

Unless a grand jury indicts Mr. Byank by Friday, which Mr. Scharfenberg said he thinks is unlikely, he will be released from jail, the attorney said. The district attorney's office is given six days from the arrest date to indict someone.

While police said it is possible the charges against him could be upgraded, they would not comment on what type of charges there might be. Mr. Scharfenberg acknowledged the possibility, but said that would probably take some time.

Mr. Byank's parents and seven other family members and friends were in the courtroom for his arraignment. "They care about him. This is their son. They are heartbroken for her family that this had to happen," Mr. Scharfenberg said.

Ms. Parris's family's telephone number was unlisted. According to her Facebook page, Lauren Marie Byank graduated from William Floyd High School in Shirley in 2008 and was attending Suffolk County Community College. Her profile listed her as engaged to Mr. Byank. She wrote that she had known him since they were 14, "and loved him ever since."

Viewing will be at the Roma Funeral Home in Shirley today from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. A funeral will be held tomorrow.