Driver gets airlifted to hospital after tractor-trailer crash in Dix Hills
Police say a 16-year-old driver hit the truck after going through a red light.
Suffolk police say there was a serious crash Saturday morning in Dix Hills.
Detectives say it happened on Bagatelle Road and Express Drive North at 7:15 a.m.
Police say a 49-year-old man was driving a tractor trailer on Express Drive North when he was struck by a Jeep. The tractor trailer overturned and hit trees and a utility pole. The driver was airlifted to the hospital with serious injuries.
Lakeisha Lucas works in a house right next to where the crash happened. She says first responders had to remove the top of the truck just to get the driver out.
“We heard a loud boom, and when we came out, this truck was on its side and was pushed into the pole…” Lakeisha said. “He said he can't breathe, and he needed help, so I called 911.”
The driver of the Jeep, a 16-year-old, was treated and released from the hospital. Police say she was issued summonses for failing to stop at a red light and driving with a learners permit, not a license.
People who live in the neighborhood say it’s the intersection where the crash happened is dangerous.
“As a resident, we sit at the light,” said Joe Campenelli, of Melville. “Even when it turns green, we don't go. We give it a couple seconds because the people jumping the lights and going through a red light. You can't see at either intersection. They both have curves to them, so it makes it kind of rough.”
PSEG says 75 customers were without power after the crash, but power had been restored to almost everyone as of Saturday evening. Crews were working to replace a utility pole on the corner of Bagatelle Road and the north service road as of Saturday afternoon.
