Driver Airlifted After East Hampton Village Accident

A driver was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital after a sedan was hit by a pickup truck on the driver's side at a controversial intersection of Route 114 in East Hampton Village on Friday afternoon. 

The two-vehicle crash occurred at Buell and Toilsome Lanes at about 12:10 p.m. East Hampton Fire Department's heavy rescue squad helped extricate the driver. A passer-by said the car looked as if a white four-door Chevy pickup truck hit the sedan's driver's side "straight on." The East Hampton Village Ambulance Association transported the driver to meet a Suffolk County medevac helicopter that landed at East Hampton Airport around 12:30 p.m.

The intersection, often called "the five corners," was closed to traffic after the accident. It wasn't immediately clear what caused the accident.

The East Hampton Fire Department also responded with a pumper truck. A fire chief was heard requesting that the village's Department of Public Works sand the intersection. 

Next year, a roundabout is to be constructed at the intersection, which officials have called hazardous due to traffic volume, poor sight distances, and misalignment of the intersecting roads. Discussions about how to improve the intersection have been going on for at least two years. In October, Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle, and village officials announced a $700,000 State Community Capital Assistance Program grant for its construction.