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This report was updated at 3:17 p.m.
Morning commuters and downtown visitors encountered a chaotic scene in Patchogue on Monday after a sedan crashed into multiple businesses along South Ocean Avenue, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
Suffolk Police said the driver and sole occupant of the 2017 Honda Accord, Scott Letizia, 42, of Patchogue, is in critical condition at NYU Langone Hospital-Suffolk in Patchogue. Cops said the car blazed southbound through the Main Street intersection at a high speed — norrowly missing a turning Suffolk County Transit bus — and slammed into the building at 14 South Ocean Ave. at 5:37 a.m.
The vehicle virtually demolished the empty Richard York shoe store and caused some damage to the Dragon Palace Chinese restaurant at 26 South Ocean Ave., just south of Main Street.
The impact was so severe that the car’s roof was torn off in the crash.
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Yellow police tape cordoned off the area as Suffolk County Police and emergency responders worked the scene early Monday. Multiple police vehicles with flashing lights blocked off the street, which was decorated with holiday snowflake ornaments — a stark contrast to the wreckage below.
South Ocean Avenue remained closed to southbound traffic as evening approached.
Hard to look at
One passerby described the devastating scene, estimating the car “had to be going 100 mph” based on the extent of the damage.
Next door to the vacant Richard York storefront — to the north — is The Cheeky Peach. The pole dancing studio, which moved one block north on South Ocean Avenue last year after experiencing vandalism at its prior location, narrowly escaped damage in Monday’s wreck.
“It’s been insane! Our Ronkonkoma location had a driver go through our studio a month ago,” a Cheeky Peach employee said. “Our studio is ok, we were inches away from being at the center of this.”
An worker at Dragon Palace said the business escaped with minimal damage — “just a little damage to a wall.”
Below is an image of the statue that greets customers at the entrance of the Chinese food restaurant. Just feet away from impact, it is unscathed.
Top: Photo taken by Ken Calderone.
