Suffolk police officer injured after crash near flooded Sunrise Highway

A Suffolk County police officer suffered injuries that were not life-threatening Sunday when his vehicle was struck while attempting to control traffic on a flooded Sunrise Highway in Islip, the police department said.

The officer, whose identity hasn’t been released, was hurt when his patrol car was struck at 11:10 a.m. on the passenger side by an eastbound van, near where the road was closed due to bad weather, the department wrote in a news release.

The officer, who is assigned to the Third Precinct, was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of his injuries. The driver of the van, Howard Shapiro, 62, was brought to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore “as a precaution,” the release said.

Traffic had been shut down around 9:30 a.m. on Sunrise Highway east of Carleton Avenue to the west of Connetquot State Park due to the flooding.

The crash is being investigated by Suffolk County Police Major Case Unit detectives, the release said. 

Details of what precipitated the crash, how it happened or where the officer was at the time of the crash weren't disclosed, nor was whether any tickets or summonses have been issued.