Dix Hills crash injures 3 teens, fire official says

Three teens were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after the Jeep they were in struck a tree and overturned Monday evening in Dix Hills, a fire department spokesman said.

The single-vehicle crash occurred on Buttonwood Drive at about 9 p.m., Dix Hills Fire Department spokesman Steve Silverman said. The three teens, whose identities were not released, escaped the wrecked Jeep Renegade and were transported to Huntington Hospital by the Dix Hills Rescue Squad, Silverman said. The extent of their injuries was unknown.

Fire officials said about two dozen volunteer firefighters from Dix Hills responded to the scene, as did emergency medical personnel with two heavy rescue trucks, three ambulances, paramedic and first responder — all under the direction of Dix Hills Fire Chief Robert Fling.

Suffolk County police also responded and said the cause of the crash is under investigation.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”