Cops: Driver of van killed after fiery crash on LIE in Holtsville

The driver of a van on the Long Island Expressway in Holtsville early Monday was killed after the vehicle struck the back of a sedan before veering off the expressway into a tree, where it burst into flames, Suffolk County police said.

The man, 39, was heading west on the LIE about 7:22 a.m. in a 2018 Ford van when he merged into the center lane and struck the back of a 2005 Chrysler 300, about a half mile east of Exit 61.

The van then swerved into the right lane, left the roadway and crashed into the tree, according to a police news release. A Suffolk County Medical Examiner's Office physician assistant pronounced the driver dead at the scene.

Police identified the driver of the Chrysler as Michelle Fiori, 58, of Shirley. She was taken by ambulance to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of nonlife-threatening injuries, police said.

The crash closed the westbound LIE for nearly five hours.

With John Valenti

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.