Two people are dead and a third is in critical condition after a multi-vehicle crash in Long Island, Suffolk County Police officials said.
A 2004 Infiniti was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes near Exit 57 when it struck a 2001 Chevrolet just after 4 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.
The driver of the Infiniti, 23-year-old Kevin Melgar, was pronounced dead at the scene by a physician assistant from the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner.
The driver of the van, 49-year old Ozcan Ayyidiz, and Melgar's 25-year-old passenger Jonathan Valladare were taken to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital. Ayyidiz was pronounced dead at the hospital, while Valladare was in critical condition, police said.
As detectives were investigating the crash, a vehicle passed through the road closure and hit an occupied Highway Patrol vehicle. The officer was transported to Stony Brook Hospital and was treated for non-life threatening injuries, authorities said.
