What Happened
Two Suffolk County Police Department officers rescued an injured hawk from the median of Sunrise Highway in Mastic on Tuesday, according to News 12 Long Island.
The Suffolk County Police Highway Patrol Bureau received a report that a bird was trapped in the highway median. Officers Keith Jansen and John Puzelli responded to the scene on Sunrise Highway in Mastic.
When the two officers arrived, they found the hawk perched on top of a wire fence in the median. The bird had an injured wing and could not fly, News 12 Long Island reported, citing police.
Officer Jansen secured the hawk using an emergency blanket. The bird was then transported to West Islip Animal Hospital for treatment, according to police.
Location & Road Context
Sunrise Highway runs east-west through Mastic in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County. The highway is a high-speed arterial with limited pedestrian or wildlife crossings in this stretch, making a grounded bird in the median a live hazard for both the animal and passing motorists.
Suffolk County has 854 recorded accidents in the Long Island Traffic incident database, including an overturned vehicle on NY 27 reported the same day as this rescue. Sunrise Highway shares its NY 27 designation along portions of this corridor.
Broader Impact
The Suffolk County Police Highway Patrol Bureau, whose primary mission covers traffic enforcement on county highways, handled this call without a dedicated animal control unit on scene. West Islip Animal Hospital, located several miles west of Mastic, received the bird for treatment. The outcome of that treatment had not been released as of the News 12 report filed at 5:53 a.m. on August 28, 2026.