Motorcyclist sideswiped, seriously injured in Sunrise Highway crash, police say

A motorcyclist was seriously injured when his motorcycle was sideswiped by a sport utility vehicle changing lanes on eastbound Sunrise Highway in Shirley early Thursday, police said.

Suffolk County police have not yet identified the motorcyclist, but said he was taken to Long Island Community Hospital in East Patchogue with undisclosed serious injuries.

The other driver, a 54-year-old man from North Babylon, was not injured in the crash. He has not been charged.

The accident forced the closure of eastbound Sunrise Highway between the exit for William Floyd Parkway and Wading River Road on the Center Moriches-Manorville border for about six hours, police said. The road was reopened about 12:30 p.m.

Police said the driver of the 2005 Toyota Sequoia was heading east on Sunrise and was changing lanes when he struck the 2017 Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle about 1/4 mile east of the exit for the William Floyd Parkway about 6:30 a.m. Both vehicles were impounded for safety checks.

Police are asking anyone with information regarding the crash to call Seventh Squad detectives at 631-852-8752.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

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.”