Police

Police officer brings man to safety following fiery East Marion crash

Car fire in East Marion

A Southold police officer is being credited with helping to bring a driver to safety following a fiery crash on Route 25 in East Marion late Monday night. 

Officer John Hinton assisted a 30-year-old Mastic man who had lost control of his vehicle, which struck a guard rail on the East Marion Causeway, flipped over and burst into flames shortly after 11:30 p.m.

Police said they had received a report moments earlier that Antonio McGill was driving at a high rate of speed and failing to maintain his lane of travel.

Mr. McGill, who suffered moderate burns, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital via SCPD aviation. East Marion and Orient fire department volunteers responded to extinguish the fire.

Police Chief Martin Flatley said the accident investigation is ongoing. He added that the serious nature of Mr. McGill’s injuries limited police’s ability to perform field sobriety tests. It is unknown if he would face any charges for the single-vehicle crash.

Caption: Volunteer firefighters douse the fire late Monday night. (Credit: Amanda Topping)