Man driving stolen SUV causes chain-reaction crash that injures 8 people, including 5-year-old, in Patchogue, police say

A Patchogue man driving a stolen sport utility vehicle caused a four-car chain-reaction crash that injured eight people, one seriously, Thursday evening in North Patchogue, police said.

Suffolk County police said among those who suffered minor injuries was a 5-year-old and four others in a vehicle hit as it was turning into a funeral home.

Police said Jeffrey Edsall, 52, was driving a stolen 2001 Ford Explorer north on North Ocean Avenue in Patchogue when he crashed into the back of a northbound 2013 Chevrolet Suburban that was turning left into the Ruland Funeral Home at about 7 p.m. The crash caused the Explorer to spin into the southbound lane, police said, where it collided with a southbound 2015 Nissan Rogue, which then collided with a southbound 2021 Volkswagen Atlas.

Edsall was ejected from the stolen Ford during the chain-reaction collisions and was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital with what police described as "serious but non-life-threatening" injuries. A 72-year-old man from Ecuador who was a rear-seat passenger in the Rogue also was transported to Stony Brook with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

A 46-year-old East Patchogue man who was driving the Nissan Rogue,  along with his front-seat passenger, were taken to a hospital with minor injuries, police said. Police said the 19-year-old Central Islip driver of the Suburban and four passengers, including the 5-year-old, also were transported to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Police said the driver of the Volkswagen,  a 48-year-old Mount Sinai woman, and two 12-year-old passengers in her SUV, were uninjured in the multi-vehicle crash.

Edsall was arrested and charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.  Arraignment details were not immediately available.

All the vehicles involved in the incident were impounded, police said.

Police said the Ford Explorer had been reported stolen from an auto repair shop on Medford Avenue in North Patchogue earlier in the day.

Police are asking anyone with information regarding the incident to call Fifth Squad detectives at 631-854-8552.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”