Cops: 4 hurt — one critically — in Hauppauge crash

Sun glare contributed to a four-vehicle crash Thursday that injured four people — including one critically — when a pickup truck driver slammed into motorists at a traffic light on Veterans Memorial Highway in Hauppauge, Suffolk police said.

One driver at the light, John Purstell, 53, of East Northport, was in critical condition Thursday afternoon at Stony Brook University Hospital, police said.

The chain-reaction accident started when Anthony Barbato's Dodge pickup hit Purstell's pickup truck and a Subaru Legacy that had stopped at the light on the eastbound lanes by New Highway at 7:13 a.m., police said.

One of the two vehicles at the light then struck a Nissan Pathfinder, police said.

Barbato, 43, of Islip Terrace, and the two other drivers each had minor injuries and were taken to St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown, police said.

The crash closed the intersection until about 2:30 p.m., officials said.

Fourth Precinct detectives said a preliminary investigation shows sun glare was a factor in the crash.

They ask anyone with information to call them at 631-854-8452.

With John Valenti