Boy, 9, seriously injured after drunken driver hits car, police say
A 9-year-old boy and his father were injured early Monday when an alleged drunken driver crashed into their car on the Long Island Expressway between Exit 63 and Exit 64, Suffolk police said. Credit: Newsday / James Carbone
A 9-year-old boy and his father were injured, the child seriously, when their car was struck from behind by a drunken driver early Monday on the Long Island Expressway in Farmingville, Suffolk County police said.
The boy was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of "serious injuries.," police said. The boy's father, a 49-year-old Deer Park resident, also was taken to Stony Brook, where he was treated for minor injuries, police said.
Both were in a 2019 Toyota Corolla about 1:50 a.m. when it was struck from behind by a 2018 BMW driven by Travis Dickson, 27, of Brooklyn, according to police. The crash took place on the westbound expressway between Exit 64, Route 112, and Exit 63, police said.
The state Department of Transportation 511 NY website reported the crash closed all westbound lanes between those two exits until just before 9 a.m.
Police said Dickson was also transported to Stony Brook, where he was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening. He was charged with driving while intoxicated, police said.
Both vehicles were impounded for safety checks.
Police said Dickson faces arraignment following his release from the hospital.
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.”
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