One construction worker is dead after a 26-year-old Ronkonkoma man struck three people with his vehicle Monday morning in Nesconset.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said Thomas Lobianco was driving eastbound in the westbound lane of Townline Road around 6:40 a.m. when he left the roadway and struck three men on the sidewalk, also hitting a utility pole and fence.

Catalina said the victims were setting up for the workday when they were hit.

All three men were taken to Stony Brook University Hospital.

Joel Sicon-Porix, 38, of Mastic, was pronounced dead. Kevin Chavez-Sarmiento, 30, of Bay Shore, and Jose Gonzalez-Colindres, 33, of Brentwood, were hospitalized with serious injuries.

The commissioner said Lobianco had just finished an overnight shift at a nearby 7-Eleven and spent about 20 minutes sitting in his vehicle in the parking lot before driving off. The crash then occurred about a mile away.

Catalina said Lobianco was arrested and charged with driving while impaired by drugs. He said a drug recognition expert determined he was impaired by marijuana and there is a possibility other drugs were taken.

Catalina also said investigators believe speed was a factor and evidence suggests Lobianco may have driven through a red light before the crash.

"An innocent life was lost and two others are going to be adversely affected for probably for the rest of their lives," Catalina said. "This individual will have to pay for what he did."

Catalina stressed that while marijuana may be legal to use, drivers cannot get behind the wheel while impaired.

He called the crash "a tragedy" and said road workers and others performing their jobs deserve to do so safely.

Police said the vehicle involved had Florida registration, though investigators do not yet know why.