Crash on Southern State kills Oceanside man

A two-vehicle accident at 3:41 a.m. last Sunday on the Southern State Parkway left an Oceanside man dead and injured several others when an SUV rear-ended another vehicle, causing it to veer into trees and a utility pole, New York State Police said.

Vito Errico, 22, was one of four occupants of a 2004 Acura headed east when a 2006 Toyota Highlander struck the car from behind, just west of exit 17, according to a State Police news release. Errico was ejected from the car’s front passenger seat, and another passenger was pinned inside the car’s back seat, forcing Nassau County’s Emergency Services Unit and the Malverne Fire Department to remove the roof and one side of the car in order to get her out, Fire Department spokesman David Gildea said.

Errico was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Acura — who was arrested at the scene — and the other two passengers were transported to a hospital, though none was seriously injured. As the Herald went to press, State Police had not released the driver’s name or the reason for his arrest.

Neither Gildea nor Malverne Volunteer Ambulance Corp President Perry Cuocci reported seeing the Toyota Highlander at the scene when they arrived. Asked what happened to the SUV and its occupants, a State Police spokesman said the vehicle was there, and that the driver had refused medical attention. Nothing about the Highlander’s occupants was documented in the State Police press release.

State Police are asking anyone who witnessed the accident to call (631) 756-3300.