Third man in wrong-way Sunrise Hwy. crash has died, cops say

A man who was injured in a wrong-way crash on Sunrise Highway in Brookhaven on Nov. 27 has died of his injuries, Suffolk County police said Saturday.

Jonathan Valladares, 25, of Brentwood, was a passenger in a 2004 Infiniti that was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes of the highway when it struck a westbound 2001 Chevrolet van at 4:05 a.m. near Exit 57.

Police identified the Infiniti’s driver as 23-year-old Kevin Melgar, also of Brentwood, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Valladares was taken in critical condition to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center in East Patchogue.

The Chevrolet’s driver, Ozcan Ayyidiz, 49, of Mastic Beach, was pronounced dead at the same medical center shortly after the crash.

A police officer was also injured in a second crash at the scene minutes later.

A 2014 Isuzu street sweeper drove through the road closure police had set up and struck two squad cars. An officer in one of the cars was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.