Patchogue man dies in crash that shuts Sunrise Hwy.

One man was killed and another suffered minor injuries in an early-morning two-vehicle crash that closed Sunrise Highway in the Sayville-Holbrook area for six hours Monday, Suffolk County sheriffs said.

Stefan Deligiannis, 36, of Patchogue, died when the sport utility vehicle he was driving struck the rear of a car and overturned, sheriffs said.

The other vehicle, a Mustang, caught fire, but that car's driver, Anthony Centrella, 20, of Mastic, was able to escape the car without serious injury, according to sheriffs department Chief of Staff Michael Sharkey..

Based on witness statements, said Sharkey, it appears the Pathfinder was going at a "considerable speed," rear-ended the Mustang and flipped. Deligiannis was pronounced dead at the scene after the 2:19 a.m. accident, Sharkey said.

Centrella was taken to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and released.. Deligiannis was one of eight people arrested last year in a $90-million mortgage scam, dubbed by prosecutors "one of the biggest mortgage frauds ever uncovered."

He was released on bail in June, but the case status was not available last night.