Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
A 61-year-old Port Jefferson Station woman died Thursday morning after losing control of her SUV on the Long Island Expressway in Ronkonkoma and striking a guardrail, according to Sachem, NY Patch, which first reported the incident.
Pamela Hanlon was driving a 2017 Toyota Highlander eastbound on the LIE between exits 58 and 59 when she lost control of the vehicle at approximately 11:40 a.m. on Thursday, December 18, 2025. The Highlander left the travel lanes and struck a guardrail on the side of the HOV lane, Suffolk County Police said. Hanlon was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead, per Patch’s updated report.
Suffolk County detectives are investigating whether Hanlon suffered a medical incident prior to losing control of her vehicle, according to police. That line of inquiry — a possible medical emergency preceding the crash — is central to the ongoing investigation. Her 2017 Toyota Highlander was impounded for a safety check following the fatal collision, police said.
The crash prompted a full closure of the Long Island Expressway while officers processed the scene. The expressway was shut down and did not reopen until approximately 1:00 p.m., leaving the roadway closed for an estimated hour and twenty minutes during the late-morning commute window, Patch reported.
Thursday’s fatal crash was not the only serious incident on Long Island roadways that morning. Earlier in the day, a drunk driver crashed a stolen Corvette on the expressway. That driver was treated for injuries and released directly into police custody, according to Suffolk County Police. Hours later, just before noon, a man was hospitalized after his 2020 Kia struck a delivery truck on the northbound side of William Floyd Parkway in Shirley. That crash sent the Kia driver to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and northbound William Floyd Parkway was closed at Brushwood Drive while police investigated that scene separately.
The concentration of serious crashes on and around the LIE corridor on a single Thursday morning underscores the hazard profile of this stretch of highway in central Suffolk County. Between the fatal single-vehicle crash involving Hanlon, the drunk-driving incident with the stolen Corvette, and the Kia collision on William Floyd Parkway, Suffolk County Police were managing at least three separate crash investigations simultaneously during the mid-morning hours.
Location & Road Context
The crash occurred on I-495 / the Long Island Expressway between exits 58 and 59 in Ronkonkoma, a heavily traveled segment of the expressway in central Suffolk County. Exit 58 serves Ocean Avenue and Ronkonkoma, while Exit 59 connects to portions of the Ronkonkoma and Lake Ronkonkoma area. The HOV lane guardrail that Hanlon’s vehicle struck runs along the left-side barrier of the highway in this section.
The Long Island Expressway is one of the most crash-prone roads on Long Island. Our database alone records 795 incidents on I-495, including recent events such as an overturned vehicle on I-495 and multiple crashes on I-495 in the same general corridor. The Ronkonkoma stretch, situated between two active interchanges, sees consistent heavy traffic from both commuters and commercial vehicles.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Suffolk County Police detectives are leading the investigation into Hanlon’s death. A key focus, according to police, is determining whether Hanlon suffered a medical episode before the crash that caused her to lose control of the Highlander — a detail that could affect how the incident is ultimately classified. No charges have been filed in connection with this crash, and the investigation remains active.
The 2017 Toyota Highlander was impounded as part of the probe to undergo a mechanical safety check, a standard procedure in fatal crashes where a vehicle defect or failure may be a contributing factor. No further details about the investigation’s timeline or findings have been released by Suffolk County Police as of the time of this report.
Broader Impact
The possibility that a medical emergency preceded this fatal crash highlights the under-discussed risk of sudden incapacitation behind the wheel — a scenario that, while not always preventable, can sometimes be mitigated through regular medical screening for drivers managing cardiovascular conditions, seizure disorders, or other episodic health issues. Suffolk County detectives’ investigation into this angle may ultimately determine whether Hanlon’s death is classified as a crash fatality or a medically-related incident with tragic road consequences.