13-year-old bicyclist critical after he's struck by a police officer's cruiser in Shirley, Suffolk police say

A teenage bicyclist was critically injured after being struck by a police officer responding in a vehicle to a call for an elderly woman in distress in Shirley Saturday night, Suffolk County police said.

The 13-year-old boy was crossing William Floyd Parkway at the intersection of Adobe Drive when he was hit about 7:50 p.m. by the southbound Seventh Precinct patrol vehicle with lights and sirens activated, according to a police news release.

The vehicle then struck a car stopped in traffic, a tree and two parked cars near the Margin Drive intersection with William Floyd Parkway, police said.

The officer had swerved in an attempt to avoid the bicyclist, causing her police cruiser to strike the other vehicles, police said.

Police are investigating how fast the cruiser was traveling at the time of the incident, police said.

The bicyclist, who lives in Shirley, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital in critical condition, police said. His specific injuries were not disclosed.

The officer suffered minor injuries and was treated and released from the same hospital, according to police. No one else was injured in the incident.

The officer was responding to a call for a 67-year-old Shirley woman who had stopped breathing as she was being attended to by first responders, police said.

The crash is being investigated by the Suffolk Police Major Case Unit. Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 631-852-6555.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.