Cops: Freeport man hit, killed outside his car on Meadowbrook State Parkway near Roosevelt Field

A Freeport man was struck and killed near his parked car Thursday on the Meadowbrook State Parkway as state troopers and Nassau police investigated a separate crash, authorities said.

State Police identified the man killed as Michael Patterson, 39.

He was standing near his 1992 Volvo 740 about 11:54 a.m., not far from the parkway’s northbound Exit M2 in Westbury, when a 2017 Subaru Outback driven by Brett Belferder, 31, of Wantagh, hit him, State Police said late Thursday afternoon.

The Outback also struck a trooper’s vehicle and a Nassau police vehicle, State Police said. A trooper suffered minor injuries but additional details were not released. 

State police investigators were trying to clear up two mysteries — what caused Belferder to crash, and why Patterson was at the scene, said spokesman Daniel Ahlgrim.

Patterson was not involved in the initial crash, Ahlgrim said. "I don't know if [Patterson' vehicle] was disabled or lost and he saw the trooper," he said. "What he was doing, I'm not sure."

Accident reconstruction experts Thursday night were trying to determine if Patterson was standing on the parkway's shoulder or a grassy area when Belferder's vehicle hit him, officials said. 

Investigators were also gathering evidence on the chain of events and what could have caused the crash.

"That's the puzzle we're trying to piece together," Ahlgrim said. 

The parkway was closed in both directions about 12:30 p.m. near Roosevelt Field mall, according to the state Department of Transportation website. The southbound lanes were reopened by 1:15 p.m.

By 5:30 p.m., police had reopened the northbound parkway, State Police said.

State Police ask anyone with information to call them at 631-756-3300

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.com,ellen.yan@newsday.comchayesmatthew,

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