Toyotas were on a tear this week, with four accidents on local roads resulting in injuries.
On the Napeague stretch, at around 6 a.m. on July 16, a Toyota sedan collided with a signpost and several trees near Shipwreck Drive, causing minor injuries to its two occupants. Santa Contreras of Montauk, 58, who was driving, told East Hampton Town police she’d veered off the road to avoid an oncoming car heading right at her. The impact triggered the deployment of multiple airbags and caused extensive damage to the car, which was towed from the scene by Marshall and Sons.
Ms. Contreras sustained a bruise to her elbow. Her passenger, Edison Geronimo Francis, 27, complained of head pain, and both were taken by ambulance to the new Stony Brook East Hampton Emergency Department for evaluation.
That night, another Toyota sedan collided with a Quality Air Duct Cleaning van at the intersection of the Sag Harbor Turnpike and Stephen Hand’s Path. Police said the Toyota driver, Jose Meneses Santos of East Hampton, 67, had been southbound on the turnpike, attempting to turn left onto Stephen Hand’s, when he failed to yield to oncoming turnpike traffic, and the front driver’s side of his car struck the front of the van. Jarred Frazier of East Hampton, 29, who was driving the van, corroborated that account.
Mr. Meneses Santos complained of whiplash and was transported by ambulance to the Emergency Department, on Pantigo Road. Mr. Frazier and his passenger, Jerae Hayes, 35, were not injured.
Late Friday afternoon, a Ford S.U.V. landed in a dirt embankment on the side of Old Northwest Road after colliding with a Toyota S.U.V. at the intersection with Stephen Hand’s Path.
Dylan Friedricks of New York City, 19, who was driving the Ford, told police he’d been proceeding from Stephen Hand’s Path onto Old Northwest Road when the Toyota drove into the intersection in front of him from the opposite direction, and he was unable to avoid a head-on collision. His S.U.V. wound up in the embankment, where it overturned, causing damage to its passenger side.
F. Avila Gallegos of Hampton Bays, 52, the driver of the Toyota, said he’d entered the intersection on the assumption that the Ford was turning right, into Stephen Hand’s Path. He complained of elbow pain and was taken by ambulance to the Emergency Department. According to the report, neither Mr. Friedricks nor his passenger, Jaden Friedricks, 17, was hurt.
About an hour later, a BMW S.U.V. struck a bicyclist on Cove Hollow Road in East Hampton. Katie Lesser of New York City, 34, said she’d been turning left onto Buckskill Road and did not see Leo Spencer Schuman, 18, approaching on his bicycle. The cyclist said he’d been riding on Cove Hollow when the S.U.V. struck his left side, causing damage to his bike and pain in his knee. He too was taken by ambulance to the Stony Brook East Hampton Emergency Department for treatment.