Cops: Driver in crash airlifted after suffering ‘medical emergency’

An elderly man was airlifted to a local hospital Thursday afternoon after he suffered a “medical emergency” while driving in Calverton and crashed into a tree, Riverhead town police at the scene said. 

An elderly female passenger was also injured in the crash, police said.

The driver of a Ford crossover SUV suffered the medical emergency while driving west on Middle Road just south of Deep Hole Lane about 1:50 p.m., police said. The vehicle went off the road on the right shoulder before the driver overcompensated and drove off the left side of the road, smashing into a set of trees, police said.

Riverhead Fire Department was called to the scene for a possible rescue from the car, and set up a landing zone for a medical helicopter to land nearby.

The man was flown to Stony brook University Hospital, while his passenger was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center by Riverhead Ambulance volunteers.

Police said there were no signs the driver was speeding at the time of the crash. An update on the victims conditions was not immediately available.