Cops: Fallen Drink Caused Jitney Chain Collision

A three-vehicle crash that sent several people to the hospital and closed Montauk Highway in Water Mill for more than an hour on Tuesday afternoon occurred when a Hampton Jitney driver became distracted due to his beverage falling to the floor of the bus, according to police.

Southampton Town police said Thursday that the bus, driven by James Miles, 51, of Riverhead, was headed westbound when it rear-ended a Mercedes Benz station wagon carrying five passengers, which was thrust forward into the rear of a masonry dump truck.

One occupant of the station wagon, Lisa Lakeman, 20, of East Hampton, suffered serious head trauma and was airlifted by a Suffolk County police helicopter to Stony Brook University Medical Center. She is currently in stable condition, according to police.

27east reported that, at the time of the accident, Lakeman was headed to the hospital with her boyfriend, Timothy Miller, and Miller's three siblings to visit the Millers' cousin, — an East Hampton Town lifeguard and daughter of East Hampton Town councilwoman Theresa Quigley — who broke her neck in the ocean surf on Aug. 23.

"The driver of the dump truck, Brian Doroska, 42, of Hampton Bays, suffered minor injuries and was brought to via ambulance," police added.

and firefighters, , , Bridgehampton and ambulance volunteers responded to the scene as well, police said.

Police said that detectives called in the Suffolk County Motor Carrier Unit to respond for a safety check of both the jitney and the dump truck, and both vehicles received summonses.

No criminal charges are expected.

Correction: An earlier version of the article stated that, according to police, the passengers of the Mercedez Benz were extricated by firefighters. However, witnesses who arrived at the scene immediately after the accident said that no one had to be extricated from the vehicle.