Crash in Riverhead kills Maria B. Tixi Tixi of Ecuador; driver arrested for not using breathalyzer ignition device, police say
An 84-year-old woman was killed Tuesday morning when the vehicle she was traveling in rolled over on an LIE exit ramp in Riverhead, police said.
Riverhead Police said the driver, Jhon M. Pulla, 45, of Corona, Queens, left the eastbound highway at the exit ramp to Route 58 and rolled over several times shortly after 8 a.m.
One of three passengers in the car, Maria B. Tixi Tixi, who was visiting from Ecuador, was taken by Suffolk County police helicopter to Stony Brook University Hospital, where she died of her injuries, police said.
The two other passengers, who were also injured, were taken by ambulance to Peconic Bay Medical Center and were expected to survive.
Pulla suffered minor injuries and was arrested on charges of driving without an interlock device, which is a breathalyzer for car ignitions, police said. They didn't elaborate on why Pulla was supposed to be using the device.
Riverhead police and New York State Police were working to reconstruct the crash and have impounded the vehicle for a safety check.
Police said no other criminality is suspected in the crash and are asking anyone with information to call Riverhead police at 631-727-4500, ext. 312.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
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