Unlicensed Patchogue driver charged with seriously injuring pedestrian

A pedestrian was seriously injured by an unlicensed driver early Sunday in Patchogue, Suffolk police said.

Edison Jovanny Morocho Gonzalez, 24, of Patchogue, was driving south on Route 112 near Silver Street when he hit a pedestrian crossing the road, according to a police news release.

A 43-year-old Patchogue man was taken to NYU Langone Hospital-Suffolk in Patchogue "for treatment of serious injuries," according to the release.

Morocho Gonzalez was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle; he also had several outstanding warrants, police said. He was being held at the Sixth Precinct and was scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Monday.

A Newsday investigation last year found there were at least 50,000 unlicensed drivers on Long Island — people whose licenses were suspended or revoked, or who never got a license — and that those drivers are more likely to cause fatal crashes.

Drivers without licenses account for 2% of all drivers but are responsible for 14% of fatal crashes, the investigation found.