One person dies in a traffic accident on Long Island's Southern State Parkway – NBC New York

According to the New York State Police, authorities are investigating a multi-vehicle crash on Long Island that left a 9-year-old boy dead.

Police responded to the crash around 2:20 a.m. Thursday on the eastbound Southern State Parkway near Exit 42 in Islip.

According to state police, four vehicles were involved.

According to police, a wrong-way driver was involved in the accident, which ultimately cost the life of a 9-year-old boy from Centerport.

“Prior to the collision, a Suffolk County Sheriff's Office patrol officer noticed the vehicle traveling in the wrong direction and attempted to stop it. However, the wrong-way driver accelerated and refused to stop,” said Major Stephen J. Udice, commander of Troop L of the New York State Police, during a joint press conference with Suffolk County police.

The boy was in the back seat of the vehicle that his 32-year-old mother drove the wrong way, Udice said. Charges are currently pending against the wrong-way driver. Police did not disclose why the mother was driving the wrong way or whether she was impaired.

All other people involved in the accident were taken to nearby hospitals. According to police, their injuries do not appear to be life-threatening.

Udice said the accident remains under investigation, but information gathered so far suggests the wrong-way driver may have been traveling the wrong way on Sunrise Highway before merging onto the Southern State Parkway.

Helicopter 4 showed extensive debris on the roadway, with debris scattered on the asphalt. The highway was closed in this area for a time to assist with the investigation and later reopened.

“To give you an idea of ​​the severity of the impact, the engine of the vehicle, which was traveling in the wrong direction, was thrown into the forest some distance from the collision site,” Udice said.

Authorities are asking anyone who saw the ghost vehicle before the accident or has any other information to contact New York State Police at 631-756-3300.

“This is a true tragedy,” said Udice.