An off-duty NYPD officer was airlifted to the hospital with serious injuries after an overnight crash involving multiple vehicles on the Long Island Expressway.
The crash happened around 12:30 a.m. Sunday. Police say two cars, a 2010 Honda and a 2012 BMW, had pulled over onto the side of the road just east of Exit 53. The occupants were outside of their vehicles when a third vehicle, a 2013 Ford sedan, slammed into the Honda, causing a chain reaction.
Police say the Honda hit the BMW and then struck one of the drivers, who has been identified as 27-year-old Anthony Robitaille, of Centereach.
The NUPD says Robitaille is an officer with the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn who was off-duty at the time of the crash. Robitaille was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital.
Neighbors tell News 12 that he had recently joined the force, fulfilling a lifelong dream of becoming a cop.
The driver of the Ford was taken to the hospital by ambulance and treated for injuries that are not considered life-threatening.
A passenger in the BMW suffered minor injuries, but refused treatment.
No charges have been filed in the case at this time.