Truck Accidents 360 Newswire

MELVILLE, NY: A truck driver died Saturday morning when the tanker truck he was driving flipped and exploded into flames on the Long Island Expressway near Melville, New York. The truck accident happened on the highway that connects New York City to its suburbs. The region is in the eastern section of the state, 53 miles from Newark, NJ and 172 miles southeast of Albany, NY

The charred wreckage of a gasoline hauling tractor-trailer burns out of control on the Long Island Expressway near Melville, N.Y., Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010.

The truck accident happened shortly after 8:00 a.m. Saturday as 57 year old Mujahid Shah of Brooklyn was piloting the tanker truck east on the Long Island Expressway. The tanker truck is owned by Kittery Transport which is based in Baring Pit, Maine …

According to Chief Michael Sharkey of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, the truck collision happened in the area on the LIE between exits 48 and 49. Mr. Shah was traveling behind a Dodge Neon that was reportedly having some kind of mechanical problems. The car was slowing down and pulling over onto the shoulder of the highway.
.

WATCH VIDEO

Mr. Shah attempted to maneuver around the small car, but instead hit the Dodge and then the tanker truck flipped over on its side and exploded into flames. The truck driver was unable to get out of the cab of the tanker truck and died at the scene. He was later removed from the destroyed tanker truck.

Witnesses reported that when the tanker exploded it sent a fireball into the air that was seen for a great distance. The truck driver had picked up about 12,000 gallons of fuel in Brooklyn that morning, and was taking it to Yaphank, NY.

MAP

View Larger Map

The driver of the Dodge, 29 year old Marie Medina of Bayonne, NJ, was able to get out of her car with some help. She was treated and then transported via helicopter to Nassau University Medical Center in nearby East Meadow. Authorities reported that her injuries were minor and she was expected to fully recover.

Firefighters from Melville and several other departments responded to the fiery truck accident and worked for over three hours to put out the massive flames. They poured specialized foam on the fuel fire and also spread sand around in an attempt to contain the fuel from the tanker.

The tanker truck accident created an intense heat that kept workers at a distance and caused severe damage to the highway surface. The asphalt was described as “basically cooked” and a large portion would have to be replaced. Road crews were going to work overnight and into Sunday to clear the area and repair the road surface.

At one point an overhead sign succumbed to the heat and melted. The sign came crashing down and flew into all eight of the highway’s lanes. Workers had to cut the remaining parts of the sign and remove it before they could open that section of the highway.

STREET VIEW

View Larger Map

State and local police shut down both directions of the LIE and rerouted drivers onto nearby service roads. The westbound lanes eventually reopened at 6:15 p.m., but the eastbound lanes were not expected to open until sometime on Sunday.

Related searches:
Brooklyn truck accident lawyer
Staten Island NY truck accident attorney