Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
Glendale resident John Heenan, 60, was driving a 2025 Mazda CX30 eastbound in the left lane of Veterans Memorial Highway when he struck a line of four vehicles waiting to make a left turn onto the northbound side of Ledgewood Drive in Hauppauge just before 6 p.m. on Tuesday evening, according to Suffolk County police. The chain-reaction collision involved five vehicles total and resulted in a fiery crash that injured six people, including three children.
The Mazda struck the back of a 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander driven by Erin Applebaum, 43, of Hauppauge, causing it to strike the car in front of it, a 2025 Tesla Model 3 driven by Michelle Lewis, 43, of Hauppauge, investigators said. The Tesla then hit the back of a 2020 Toyota Camry driven by Ahad Idris, 31, of Smithtown, which subsequently hit the back of a 2023 Mazda CX5 driven by Ann Denning, 39, of Smithtown, according to police reports.
Following the initial impact, Heenan’s Mazda caught fire, and the flames spread to the Tesla, investigators said. The Smithtown Fire Department rushed to the scene to extinguish both vehicles before the fire could spread further or cause additional damage to the other cars involved in the collision.
Six people sustained injuries in the crash, according to police. Five victims were transported by ambulance to Stony Brook University Hospital, while one person was airlifted to the hospital via Suffolk County Police Helicopter, indicating the severity of at least one person’s condition. Heenan suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries in the collision he caused. Applebaum, the driver of the Mitsubishi, also sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Her two daughters, ages 9 and 12, who were passengers in her vehicle, suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Lewis, the Tesla driver, and her 8-year-old son were both treated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to police. Despite their vehicles being struck in the chain reaction, both Idris, the Toyota driver, and Denning, who was driving the final car hit in the sequence, escaped without injuries.
All five vehicles involved in the crash were impounded for safety checks, according to Suffolk County police. The collision and subsequent fire response operations shut down Veterans Memorial Highway for approximately four hours, from the evening rush hour period until just before 10 p.m., causing significant traffic disruptions for commuters in the area.
Suffolk County police said there is no criminality suspected at this time, but the investigation into the cause of the crash remains ongoing. Detectives are asking anyone who may have witnessed the collision or has information about the incident to contact the Suffolk County Police Department’s Fourth Squad at 631-854-8452.
Location & Road Context
The crash occurred on Veterans Memorial Highway at the intersection with Ledgewood Drive in Hauppauge, a busy commercial corridor in central Suffolk County. This section of Veterans Memorial Highway serves as a major east-west arterial road connecting multiple communities and business districts throughout the Town of Islip and Town of Smithtown.
The intersection where the collision occurred is particularly challenging for drivers, as eastbound traffic must navigate around vehicles waiting to make left turns onto Ledgewood Drive’s northbound lanes. The configuration requires vehicles making the left turn to wait in the travel lane, potentially creating hazardous conditions during heavy traffic periods when visibility may be reduced or when drivers are not paying adequate attention to traffic patterns ahead.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
While Suffolk County police have stated that no criminality is suspected at this time, the investigation into the exact cause of the collision continues. Detectives are working to determine factors that may have contributed to Heenan’s failure to notice or stop for the line of vehicles waiting to turn left ahead of him.
The ongoing investigation will likely examine various elements including potential driver distraction, medical episodes, mechanical failure, or other factors that could have prevented Heenan from recognizing the stopped traffic in time to avoid the collision. The impoundment of all five vehicles suggests authorities are conducting thorough mechanical and safety inspections as part of their comprehensive investigation.
Broader Impact
The four-hour closure of Veterans Memorial Highway during peak evening hours created significant traffic disruption throughout the Hauppauge area, forcing commuters to seek alternate routes through local residential streets and secondary roads. The extended closure time was necessitated not only by the multi-vehicle collision investigation but also by the fire suppression efforts and the need to safely clear debris from both burned vehicles and the other damaged cars involved in the chain reaction.