Daishun Jones Rains, of Huntington Station, killed in LIE crash in Melville; 4 hurt, police say
Melville firefighters work at the scene of a crash that closed the eastbound Long Island Expressway in Melville on Monday morning. Credit: Kevin McGill
A Huntington Station man was killed and four others were injured, two seriously, in an early-morning crash that closed the eastbound Long Island Expressway for hours on Monday morning in Melville, Suffolk County police said.
The single-vehicle crash occurred near the overpass for Pinelawn Road and was reported at 5:03 a.m., police said. Police originally said the crash occurred near Route 110, before correcting the location. The roadway and surrounding entrance and exit ramps were reopened in the early afternoon.
Police said the crash occurred when the driver, Daishun Jones Rains, 30, of Huntington Station, lost control of his 2004 Nissan Sentra, the car leaving the eastbound roadway and crashing into a wooded area just west of the overpass for Pinelawn Road.
Jones Rains died at the scene, police said.
Two passengers in the Nissan were taken to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip for treatment of what police described as serious injuries. Two others in the car were also taken to area hospitals for treatment of what police described as minor injuries.
Police said the vehicle was impounded for a safety check and did not immediately cite a cause for crash.
Police ask anyone with information about the crash to call Second Squad detectives at 631-854-8252.
Traffic was brought to a near-standstill in the area for hours after the crash, diverted off the eastbound LIE west of the crash scene. Video from roadside traffic cameras showed the mangled wreckage being pulled from the shoulder hours after the crash.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
More coverage: Long Island traffic crashes claimed 243 lives in 2022, 29% more than in 2019, Newsday has reported. The level was the highest since 2015, as dangerous driving increased post-COVID-19 and police traffic enforcement dropped, according to a Newsday analysis of crash and ticketing data and traffic experts.
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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