Five die as airborne car hits two others on Long Island highway

[August 22, 2016]    (Reuters) - Five people, including a 10-year-old boy, were killed on Sunday when a car driver lost control and his vehicle became airborne, striking two cars traveling in the opposite direction on the Long Island Expressway, police said.

Among the dead was Scott Martella, a 29-year-old former aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Suffolk County police said a 26-year-old man and his 27-year-old sister were both declared dead at the scene in Manorville, New York, after the man lost control of his vehicle which crossed a grassy median, became airborne and struck two oncoming vehicles.

The driver's 10-year-old son died later at a hospital, police said.

Martella, communications director for Suffolk County Executive Steven Bellone and a former Cuomo aide, was declared dead at the scene while his fiancée was treated for injuries at a hospital.

An 81-year-old male passenger in the other vehicle struck by the car died, with three passengers treated for injuries, as were two passengers in the car that first lost control.

Police are investigating the cause of the three-car crash, which caused major traffic delays on one of the region's most heavily traveled highways.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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