Cops: Pedestrian in Peconic Avenue crosswalk struck by taxi cab, taken to hospital with injuries

A man was rushed to Peconic Bay Medical Center after being struck by a taxi cab in a Peconic Avenue crosswalk at about 12:45 this afternoon.

The taxi, a Ford Escape owned by Riverhead Town Taxi of Riverleigh Avenue, was turning left onto Peconic from Main Street, according to police on the scene.

The pedestrian suffered physical injuries not considered life-threatening, police said.

The victim, a male in his 20s, is a maintenance worker at Summerwind Square, according to Summerwind partner Ray Dickhoff, who was called to the scene by a Dark Horse Restaurant employee who knows the victim.

“He was pretty banged up,” Dickhoff said. The victim told Dickhoff  “he flew about 12 feet in the air,” Dickhoff said.

Police found the victim lying in the roadway when they responded to the call, according to radio reports.

The taxi cab driver, a woman whom police did not identify, had a valid commercial license, police said. It was not immediately known if she had a valid Riverhead Town taxi driver permit, police said, though the cab itself had a vehicle permit affixed to its tailgate.

The accident investigation is pending, according to police, who did not say whether any summonses were being immediately issued to the driver.

The victim was transported to PBMC by Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps. The taxi driver was not injured and the vehicle itself did not sustain significant damage in the crash.

Peconic Avenue was briefly closed to traffic while the EMS crew worked at the scene. Northbound traffic was diverted onto Heidi Behr Way and southbound traffic was diverted onto East Main Street. The road was reopened in about 30 minutes.

A taxi cab operated by the same company was involved in a two-car crash on West Main Street one month ago, injuring the taxi driver.