A distracted bus driver was the cause of a three-car crash in Water Mill Tuesday that shut down Montauk Highway and seriously injured a 20-year-old Easthampton woman, according to Southampton Town Police.
Police said Hampton Jitney driver James Miles, 51, of Riverhead, was distracted when his beverage fell to the floor of the bus just before it slammed into the rear of a Mercedes Benz on Montauk Highway in Water Mill Tuesday, according to Southampton Town Police.
The impact pushed the Mercedes, a station wagon carrying five people, into the rear of a dump truck, police said.
An occupant of the Mercedes, Lisa Lakeman, suffered serious head trauma and was airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center for treatment, according to the police report. She is currently in stable condition, police said.
The driver of the dump truck, Brian Doroska, 42, of Hampton Bays, suffered minor injuries and was brought to Southampton Hospital via ambulance, police said.
Miles was not charged in the incident, according to police, who said they do not expect to file criminal charges. But the Suffolk County Motor Carrier Unit, called to the scene by police, conducted a safety check of the bus and the dump truck and issued summonses to both vehicles. Police did not provide information about the nature of the summonses.
The crash occurred shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday. The road was closed until 3:13 p.m.
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