Teens injured when driver, 17, crashes on LIE, Suffolk police say

A teenage driver lost control of a Toyota sedan Friday and crashed into a disabled Jeep on the shoulder of the Long Island Expressway in Yaphank, injuring herself and her teen passengers as well as the man inside the Jeep, according to the Suffolk County Police Department. 

The crash happened on the LIE’s westbound side around 1:40 p.m., near Exit 68, when the teen driver, Madison Cheeseman, 17, of East Patchogue, crashed the 2019 Toyota Camry into the 2021 Jeep Explorer, which was on the LIE’s shoulder, the department wrote in a news release. 

Cheeseman’s passenger, William Brewster, 17, of Bellport, was brought to Stony Brook University Hospital with serious injuries. Cheeseman, who had non-life-threatening injuries, was also brought to Stony Brook, police said.

Cheeseman's other passenger, Nicholas Fortunato, 16, of Bellport, was brought to Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue with non-life-threatening injuries. And the Jeep driver, Michael Ruotolo, 47, of Farmingdale, was brought to Stony Brook with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The news release did not elaborate on what might have caused Cheeseman to lose control of the Camry. 

None of those involved could be reached for comment.

According to a 2020 analysis by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the risk of crashes is higher among teens ages 16 to 19 than among any other age group. And a 2012 study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that risk increases 44% when a teen driver has one passenger younger than 21 and doubles when carrying two.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.