Officials: Car crashes into house in St. James, catches fire
Firefighters on the scene where a car crashed into a house in St. James at about 4 a.m. Monday, Oct. 9, 2017. Credit: Stringer News Service
A St. James man was charged with driving while intoxicated after, Suffolk County police said, he crashed his car into a neighborhood home early Monday, injuring himself and three passengers. A police officer responding to the scene also was injured while rescuing a passenger from the vehicle, which had caught fire.
Fire officials said the incident occurred at the intersection of Applewood Road and Bayberry Drive in St. James at 3:57 a.m.
Ambulance companies from the Nesconset, Stony Brook and Centereach fire departments all responded, as did firefighters from St. James, officials said.
Photos from the scene show the car crashed into the side of the home near the front door and also show damage to the house siding under front windows.
Police said the driver, Jose Ayala, 21, and his three passengers all were taken to Stony Brook University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The officer, whose name was not released, also was taken to Stony Brook for undisclosed injuries suffered while rescuing a back seat passenger. The officer was released from the hospital, police said.
The home was occupied at the time of the crash, though police said no one inside was injured.
With Zachary R. Dowdy
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.”
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