EMTs Perform CPR on Accident Victim in Wainscott

Bridgehampton Fire Department's ambulance personnel performed CPR on a man whose car veered into oncoming traffic, hit a curb, and crashed into a tree on Montauk Highway in Wainscott on Saturday afternoon. He was taken by ambulance to Southampton Hospital, and his condition was not immediately known.

Tobias Tracy, who works in Twice Upon A Bagel said he was standing outside of the store at about 4:25 p.m., when he saw a gray Toyota Tacoma towing a Boston Whaler stopped at the traffic light on the highway and Wainscott Northwest Road heading east. "When the light turned green, he started driving. He was only doing maybe 15, 20 miles per hour. Then, he started veered left, he went into the opposite lane," Tracy said.

The truck crossed over into the westbound lane. A car heading west stopped short, Tracy said, as the truck veered to the left. The truck and the small boat trailer jumped the curb and crashed into a tree in front  of Lift Hampton in the Wainscott Shopping complex.

The truck came to a stop on top of the tree root and took the tree down. The airbag did deploy.

"I ran up to the car, looking through the window. It looked like he was breathing really hard. I was a little nervous, I didn't know what to do, I didn't want to disturb him," Tracy said.  "Somebody else opened the door. You could tell he was breathing really hard."

Tracy said he thought the man's medical emergency might have been a factor in the crash. "It looked like he was holding his chest. It looked like he had a heart attack or something." 

Another motorist who is reportedly employed by the FDNY started doing chest compressions, while another person ran into Wainscott Wines & Liquor to look for a defibrillator, according to Tom Dawber, the manager there. The store did not have one. 

After about 15 minutes of CPR, the ambulance personnel transported the man to the hospital.

East Hampton Town police are investigating the crash, and detectives were taking photographs at the scene. The driver's name was not released.

The driver's beagle was his only passenger. Detective Sgt. Robert Gurney said the man's friend was coming to get the dog.

Montauk Highway remained open for the duration of the investigation. Fire police directed traffic, but the roadway was not obstructed at all by the crash.