Crash Sends Mother, Infant to Hospital During Snowstorm

A woman whose infant was in the back seat of her sport utility vehicle had to be extricated by firefighters after a two-car accident on Montauk Highway at Georgica Road in East Hampton Village during a snowstorm on Thursday morning. Police said one of the drivers had no license.

The East Hampton Fire Department's heavy rescue squad was called to remove the woman, who was in the passenger seat of a Chevrolet Equinox that collided with a Chevrolet Avalanche at about 6:10 a.m., according to Chief Richard Osterberg Jr. "We took the door off the passenger side because the car went into a snow bank," he said.

She was taken to Southampton Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, he said. The driver of the Equinox was able to get out on his own. Village police later issued him a summons for unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, a violation. Their infant did not appear to be injured but was taken to the hospital as a precaution, Chief Osterberg said.

The driver of the truck was walking around when Chief Osterberg arrived and refused medical attention. Two ambulances from the East Hampton Village Ambulance Association responded.

Chief Osterberg said it appeared that the accident occurred because of the slippery roads, with one vehicle striking the other in the side at a right angle. East Hampton Village police are investigating the crash.

Traffic was detoured in the area while emergency personnel worked to clear the wreckage. The vehicles were towed. An assistant chief and the department's fire police remained at the scene for about two hours.