Cops: Motorist with suspended license hits, seriously injures Dix Hills man

A Dix Hills man, walking on the westbound Veterans Memorial Highway in Commack, near Sunken Meadow State Parkway, was seriously injured early Saturday morning when he was struck by van driven by a motorist with a suspended license, Suffolk County police said.

Mehmet Aydin, 56, was struck by a 2003 Chevrolet van traveling west on Veterans Memorial Highway at 1:20 a.m. Aydin was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital with serious injuries, police said.

The driver of the van, Rory Witzgall, 45, of Massapequa, was uninjured.

Witzgall was issued a ticket for driving with a suspended license but was not criminally charged in the accident, police said.

The van was impounded for a safety check and the investigation is continuing, police said.

Court records show that Witzgall pleaded guilty in 2004 to charges of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and resisting arrest. He served 60 days in jail and paid a $500 fine, records show.

Anyone with information about Saturday's crash is asked to contact the Fourth Squad at 631-854-8452