Driver seriously injured after crashing into Riverhead School District bus

A man appeared to be seriously injured after crashing head on with a school bus on Sound Avenue in Riverhead Thursday evening, witnesses at the scene said.

Riverhead Police confirmed Sound Avenue has been closed between Church and Phillips Lanes since the crash occurred shortly after 5 p.m.

Patrick Cereola, the tasting room manager at Palmer Vineyards, said he had just entered his car in the parking lot when he heard the crash. Witnesses said an SUV was traveling westbound along Sound Avenue when it swerved into the left lane and crashed into an eastbound Riverhead School District bus just as they were both passing the winery.

“It sounded like a bomb went off,” Mr. Cereola said. “All of a sudden I see a school bus completely mangled in the front.”

Mr. Cereola and colleague Chris McAleese ran to the scene where they found a man badly injured inside an SUV. With the assistance of another man who had also been driving along Sound Avenue at the time of the crash, they pulled the injured driver from the vehicle.

Witnesses said the bus driver and two student passengers were uninjured. The driver of the SUV appeared to be treated at the scene with Narcan, an opioid overdose reversal drug. One witness said the man had been swerving in the roadway prior to the crash.

“Police did a great job getting to the scene and closing everything off very quickly,” Mr. Cereola said. The driver was given CPR and oxygen, he added.

The injured man was escorted away in an ambulance. Police provided no other immediate details.

This is a developing story. Check back later for more details as they become available.