Tragedy on Long Island on Thursday morning as a 9-year-old Centerport boy died in a crash after his mother was accused of driving the wrong way while under the influence on the Southern State Parkway in Bay Shore, New York State Police said.
State troopers and Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to a crash on the parkway, around eastbound exit 42, police said. The woman, driving a dark-colored late model SUV, caused a four-car collision that killed her son, police said. According to late reports, when she was observed driving the wrong way on the highway police tried to stop her, instead she sped up until she finally crashed into four other vehicles.
When they reached her troopers saw the woman standing outside of her car and found her son in the backseat still with a seat belt fastened, police said. Troopers and the sheriff’s deputies immediately started performing CPR on the boy in an effort to save his life, and when ambulances arrived they jumped in to continue their efforts, accompanying the boy to the hospital. Unfortunately, he later died of his injuries, police said. The force of the crash catapulted the car’s engine into the woods after severing one of the other vehicles that it collided with.
The mother, along with people in the other three vehicles involved, suffered injuries that are not life-threatening, police said. The woman and boy were not yet identified by police, but Newsday reported that she is 32 years old. She was given a field sobriety test, but state police have not yet given the results of the test or listed the charges she is facing.
State police thanked the New York State Department of Transportation and Suffolk County Police Department officers who helped with traffic control. Brentwood Fire Department, Brentwood Ambulance Service, and Exchange Ambulance Service brought the crash victims to nearby hospitals.
The collision is still under investigation, and the state police department is asking for anyone who witnessed the crash or anyone with information to call 631-756-3300.
