Teen Critically Injured Attempting to Cross Nesconset Highway

A teenager is in critical condition after being hit by a car while attempting to cross Nesconset Highway and Middle Country Road in Nesconset. 

Suffolk County police said Natalie Maloney, 14, of Ronkonkoma, was attempting to cross the intersection of  Nesconset Highway/Route 347 and Middle Country Road/Route 25 at roughly 11:40 p.m. Sunday night. Maloney was hit by a 2012 Chevrolet Suburban driven by Domiciano Rubi, 64, of Brentwood. 

Maloney and her friend were attempting to cross Route 347 to meet up with friends who were waiting at a nearby gas station, according to Suffolk Deputy Inspector Thaddeus Nieves. They had been walking for more than an hour after leaving her Ronkonkoma home. 

"It's obviously an intersection of two heavily trafficked roadways. It would be difficult for pedestrians to cross," Nieves said. 

The two teens were not part of a group of teens reported playing chicken nearby on Middle Country Road roughly one hour earlier, according to police.  

Maloney was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital by Nesconset Ambulance, where she is in critical but guarded condition, according to police.  

Rubi and his passenger were not injured in the crash. 

Police have impounded the Suburban for a safety inspection. Anyone with information about the accident is asked to call police at 631-854-8452.