2 injured in car, semi-truck collision in Dix Hills

Two motorists were hospitalized Thursday night, one seriously, after a semi-truck collided with a Toyota Prius in Dix Hills, fire department officials said.

The crash occurred at 2:20 p.m. near the intersection of Deer Park Road and East Deer Park Road, just north of the Northern State Parkway, said Drew Silverman, a spokesman for the Dix Hills Fire Department.

Roberto Cano was driving a 2006 Toyota Prius south on Deer Park Road when the vehicle struck a northbound 2025 Kenworth semi-truck, Suffolk County police said. The Prius then struck a 2012 Hyundai Sonata that was stopped at a traffic light, authorities said.

Responding firefighters used a hydraulic rescue tool to extricate the driver of the Prius from the mangled vehicle, Silverman said.

"The driver was heavily pinned inside the vehicle," he said. "It took approximately 20 minutes to extricate him."

Cano, 23, of Smithtown, was transported by helicopter to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of serious injuries, police said.

Wagner Lopez, 53, of Dix Hills, the driver of the semi-truck, was taken to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore for treatment of minor injuries.

The driver of the Hyundai Sonata was not injured.

Deer Park Road, which was closed for more than five hours, reopened shortly before 8 p.m., Silverman said.

All three vehicles were impounded for a safety check.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the Second Squad at 631-854-8252.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.