All eastbound and westbound lanes of the Long Island Expressway re-opened Thursday morning
following a
35 car pileup that killed one person and injured 33 others.
A 68-year-old woman died after her Toyota Camry was hit in the midst
of a 33 car pileup that happened on Wednesday afternoon after a
tractor-trailer hit cars in the eastbound lane.
Police said the truck
crashed into several vehicles which then set
off a domino effect of accidents involving 35 cars that spread out
across several hundred yards of the eastbound lanes.
Police Deputy Inspector Kevin Fallon said the accident occurred at
about 2:40 p.m. Five fire departments showed up at the scene as well as
19 emergency medical services agencies, police said.
The tractor-trailer was carrying debris from Hurricane Sandy and as a
result of its crash caused at least three vehicles to catch on fire, including
the 18-wheeler itself. It is still unclear if the tractor-trailer's
driver, Raymond Simoneau, 42, was among the injured.
Simoneau was
driving east on the LIE just past the William Floyd Parkway exit when he
lost control of the rig and slammed into several cars, Suffolk County
Police said. The car involved in the initial collision with the
tractor-trailer "was incinerated beyond recognition, with its tires
punctured and paint burned off its body."
The LIE remained closed in both directions between exits 66 and 69
until shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday, in time for the morning rush. It is
not clear what caused Simoneau to lose control of the tractor-trailer
and investigation into the matter continues, authorities said Thursday.
The injured were taken to Stony Brook University Medical Center.
The incident occured in the same week as a 60 car pileup
near the Oregon stateline, where a semi-truck driver lost control over
black ice and crashed his truck into a concrete median. Cars crashing
into each other extended for more than two miles.
If you or someone you know has been
injured in a car accident call the
experienced New York Car Accident Lawyers at Buttafuoco & Associates 1-800-669-4878
A man standing on the shoulder of the LIE near Exit 61 in Holbrook was critically injured when he attempted to prevent one of two tires that had dislodged from a passing semi-truck from crashing into his car.
