Tragedy was narrowly averted in an accident the intersection of Route 58 and Osborn Avenue early this morning.
A Mitsubishi SUV eastbound on Route 58 clipped the nose of a van that had just begun to proceed southbound into the intersection. Swerving to avoid a full side-impact crash, the SUV rolled over, spewing debris across the roadway. It came to a rest on the sidewalk on the north side of the five-lane highway in front of the Eagle auto dealership.
The driver of the Mitsubishi suffered minor injuries but refused to go to the hospital. No one else was injured in the accident, which happened at about 6:15 a.m.
The Mitsubishi spilled a lot of gas on the road, which the Riverhead Fire Department was called to clean up, First Assistant Chief Kevin Brooks said.
The rolling Mitsubishi came within a foot or two of a vehicle operated by Cliff Saunders of Riverhead, who was driving his son to school and was waiting to make a left onto Route 58 from southbound Osborn Avenue.
Saunders said the traffic light had just turned green on Osborn. If he had moved into the intersection a second or two more quickly, he said, the outcome would have been very different.
“It just missed me,” Saunders said. “Today must be my lucky day.”
The contents of the SUV came flying out and scattered all over the road — fishing poles, sleeping bags, shoes, money, credit cards. Some items hit Saunders’ vehicle, he said, leaving behind some dings and scratches that weren’t there yesterday.
“There was a debris field about 150 feet long,” Brooks said.
RiverheadLOCAL courtesy photos.
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