After East Hampton Couple Hit By Alleged Drugged Driver on Sunrise Highway, Dad 'Grateful to God' They Survived

EAST HAMPTON, NY: Ronald King of East Hampton said his son had car trouble Saturday and had borrowed his Jeep before setting off with his girlfriend for the day.

And then came the phone call that every parent dreads: The news that his son Christopher King, 38, and his girlfriend Crystal Hayes, 34, had been hurt after a woman hit them on the Sunrise Highway Saturday; the woman had been driving while under the influence of drugs, police said.

"I was devastated. I was so shocked when I got the call that he was in the hospital," King said. "I'm just so grateful to God that he will be okay."

He added, "I am so thankful that my son and his girlfriend are alive, although not in the best of shape."

King said his son and Hayes, despite initial reports, had not stopped to see a brush fire but had actually thought the fire meant there could have been an accident, with someone potentially in distress or hurt.

The couple stopped their car to help and dialed 911, he said."All of a sudden he heard brakes squealing in that split second," he said.

His son, King said, has a pelvis broken in two places and a gash in the back of his head that was stapled closed, as well as a concussion; he was transferred from Peconic Bay Medical Center to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore yesterday after the accident.

Hayes, who was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital with serious injuries after the crash, has broken legs and is in "really bad shape. It's going to take quite a while for her to heal."

King said he wants to thank the community for the outpouring of well wishes. His son, he said, will be okay, and should be released from the hospital Monday. "He'll need some help with walking for awhile," he said.

But, he added, "Please keep praying for Crystal."

Police said Saturday that the woman who plowed into the couple on Sunrise Highway was driving high on drugs.

According to New York State Police, the crash took place at 11:38 a.m. on Saturday.

New York State Troopers from the Riverside barracks responded to Sunrise Highway eastbound between Exits 64 and 65 in Southampton after a collision between a vehicle traveling eastbound and two occupants standing outside a parked vehicle on the right shoulder.

Police said Hayes and King, both of East Hampton had parked the 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee on the south shoulder of Sunrise Highway and exited the vehicle to observe a small brush fire on the north shoulder.

A 2007 Pontiac operated by Ulyana Yaremko, 20, of Hampton Bays was traveling eastbound in the left lane when the operator lost control and skidded sideways, striking both Hayes and King as well as the Jeep, police said.

Hayes was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital in serious but stable condition, police said.

King was transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, police said.

Yaremko was treated and released from Southampton Hospital and was subsequently arrested and charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, police said.

She will be held pending arraignment in Southampton Town Justice Court, police said. Sunrise Highway was closed heading eastbound for approximately four hours, police said.