Just east of Exit 68 in Yaphank, the Long Island Expressway was the scene of a fiery 35 vehicle pile-up that closed portions of Long Island’s major roadway in Suffolk County yesterday, killing 1 and injuring more than 33 people.
The collision, at approximately 2:30pm, occurred when a tractor trailer, hauling debris from Hurricane Sandy, crashed into multiple vehicles, igniting a fireball that spread to other vehicles in front of it and vehicles that trailed behind it.
The driver of the truck on his way to a collection area in Riverhead to deliver his cargo after picking it up at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow.
One woman, age 68, was pronounced dead at the scene. Two of the three seriously injured were airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital, in Stony Brook. The third victim was brought to the hospital in serious condition. The other 30 injured crash victims, were sent to local area hospitals, including Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson and Brookhaven Memorial Medical Center in Patchogue.
Less than a mile beyond the crash, the three lanes of traffic had been reduced to one lane due to construction that was being done on the roadway.
