Struck C. Islip girl, 9, still in critical

A Central Islip girl remained in critical condition Sunday night at Stony Brook University Medical Center after she and her sister were hit by a sport utility vehicle Thursday as they crossed Route 25A in Smithtown -- a stretch of road that has seen several pedestrian accidents in recent years.

Melody Burgos, 9, has a serious head injury, said her father, Victor Burgos, Sunday. Doctors have told him she will survive, he said.

"They have her sedated in a coma," Burgos, 48, said as he headed to the hospital to visit Melody Sunday night. "It looks like they will wake her up between today and tomorrow to see how she reacts."

An SUV hit Melody and her older sister Mabel Burgos, 13, about 5:30 p.m. as they crossed 25A. Mabel Burgos was not badly injured and was kept overnight at Stony Brook for observation after the accident and then released.

The driver of the SUV, Maria Kolahifar, 66, of Fort Salonga, was not injured. Police said Sunday that the crash is under investigation and no charges are expected against Kolahifar.

"I am so sorry for her," Victor Burgos, a truck driver, said of Kolahifar. "It must be painful for her, for anybody, to get involved in something like that."

On Nov. 24, 2009, an SUV hit and killed Courtney Sipes, 11, while she was crossing Route 25A -- also known as Main Street in Smithtown -- just east of Lawrence Avenue.

The accident involving the Burgos sisters also happened near the Main Street-Lawrence Avenue intersection, police said.

On Jan. 2, Charles Doonan, 65, of Flushing, and Mirtha Rotkowitz, 61, of Sunnyside, were crossing in the same area when they were struck and injured.

The area has undergone recent improvements, including traffic buttons at crosswalks that allow pedestrians more time to cross the busy road. Some 33,000 vehicles travel each day along Main Street, according to the Department of Transportation, and the posted speed limit is 30 mph.