Community mourns the loss of Sean McCarthy

Long Beach resident, killed in Park Avenue accident, remembered as a loving father

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Sean McCarthy called his close friend Michael Chandler on April 9 to chat about the Mets’ opening day and to catch up. The two lifelong friends and diehard Mets fans grew up in the West End, and spoke often about their lives and their families.

“We were the tightest to the end,” said Chandler. “He called me last week for opening day — he was just happy to talk about his kids and the Mets. He spoke to my mother — I didn’t even get to say goodbye — and he went back to work. I have nothing but fond memories. I had great times with this guy; he was my brother. He had a great impact on a lot of people that even he may not know about.”

McCarthy, who lived on East Walnut Street, worked for the Long Beach School District for 20 years as a cleaner at the high school, a full-time job that his friends said he took for the good benefits and greater stability for his kids after being a well-known bartender in the area for years. He made the roughly one-mile walk from his home to the high school every morning, friends said.

Last Friday, McCarthy, 51, was doing just that, walking along Maple Boulevard at 5:50 a.m., when, police said, he was struck by a 1988 Chevrolet Corvette headed west on Park Avenue.

Long Beach police and firefighters, as well as Nassau County homicide and crime scene units, responded to the scene, where McCarthy lay on the ground with serious head injuries. He was taken to South Nassau Communities Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:47 a.m. Lt. Mark Stark of the LBPD said that no charges were filed against the 60-year-old driver of the Corvette, though the vehicle was impounded for a brake safety test.

“They checked the driver for DUI and did brake tests — the brakes worked and the person was not drunk,” Stark said. “They don’t believe any criminality was involved.”

McCarthy’s death came as a shock to family and friends, and hundreds turned out at his funeral service at St. Ignatius Martyr Roman Catholic Church on Tuesday, where he was remembered as a loving father who doted on his four children. He is survived by his wife, Jeannie; his mother, Eileen; a sister, Christine; and his children, twin boys Patrick and Sean, 13, Allison, 10, and Mallory, 7.

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