Police said an out-of-control tractor-trailer truck carrying gravel caused a crash that killed a passenger on a minibus and injured eight others in Baiting Hollow Wednesday.
A preliminary accident report by Riverhead Town Police said Robert Converse Jr., 54, of Bellport, lost control of a gravel-loaded 2006 Mack truck as he headed east on Sound Avenue near Baiting Hollow Hill.
The report said that as the semi overturned, it struck the 2007 Ford minibus, which was transporting special needs adults. It came to rest on the driver’s side and caused “”substantial damage”” to the driver’s side of the bus, according to the report, released early Thursday.
Police said all passengers on the minibus from the Maryhaven Center of Hope in Port Jefferson were injured in the 3:08 p.m. crash. The truck driver was also among the injured.
The bus driver was identified as Gary Rosset, 61, of Ridge. The bus also was carrying a staff member and six special-needs adults, police said.
Neither driver has been charged, police said.
The victim, a man, has not been identified, pending notification of next of kin. He was pronounced dead at Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, police said.
Riverhead Police closed Sound Avenue between Edwards and Fresh Pond avenues shortly after the crash, which remains under investigation.
Two accident victims treated at Peconic Bay Medical Center were discharged late Wednesday, one remained at Peconic and one was transferred to Stony Brook University Medical Center, said a spokeswoman for the medical center, Sharon Tietze. Their identities and conditions were not known Thursday.
Four other accident victims were treated John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson, a spokeswoman, Nancy Uzo, said Wednesday. She said their injuries were not life-threatening and that all were expected to be treated and released.
Juanita Nash, of Riverhead, who works at a nursery on Sound Avenue, said Wednesday that cars and trucks often speed on the rural road. “”You have to take your time and go slow,”” she said.
