Police: Center Moriches teen hurt in fall from Jeep's running board

A teen riding on the running board of a Jeep in Center Moriches late Wednesday fell, striking his head, and was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital with head trauma, Suffolk County police said.

The youth, 16, from Center Moriches, was taken by a police helicopter to the hospital, where he also is being treated for "other non-life-threatening injuries," a department spokeswoman said.

He was wearing a harness on the passenger side of the Jeep at about 11:05 p.m. on Sedgemere Road when the harness snapped and the youth fell to the pavement, police said.

He was then taken to a Knights of Columbus parking lot, from where he was airlifted, police said.

Three other male teens between 16 and 17 years old were in the Jeep at the time, police said.

The driver was issued a summons for allowing a passenger to cling to a vehicle.