1 killed, 1 seriously injured in Sunrise Highway crash in North Patchogue

One person died Monday after being ejected from an SUV that rear-ended a pickup on Sunrise Highway in North Patchogue, police said.

The driver of the Chevrolet Suburban sport utility vehicle was arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated, Suffolk police said.

The SUV was going west when it hit the pickup about 5:30 p.m. near Route 112, shutting down the westbound highway, police said.

The person ejected was in the backseat, police said, and another backseat passenger was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital in serious and possibly critical condition.

The SUV's front-seat passenger and the driver were taken to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center with nonlife-threatening injuries, and the pickup's two occupants were not hurt, police said.

The SUV rolled over, landing upright on the right shoulder, said Thomas Volpe, second assistant chief at the North Patchogue Fire Department.

"The passenger side of the car and the roof was caved in," he said. Firefighters had to cut open the SUV to rescue two passengers, he said.