A fuel tanker truck crashed and exploded into flames on the Long Island Expressway early Saturday morning, killing its driver, melting the road and an overhead sign, and shutting down the busy highway for 10 hours.
The truck was trying to avoid hitting a Dodge Neon shortly after 8 a.m., according to The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/nyregion/24tanker.html?scp=1&sq;=truck%20explosion&st;=cse, and a story published online by firehouse.com: http://www.firehouse.com/topics/top-headlines/tanker-crash/fire-closes-ny-expressway, But the driver, Mujihad Shah of Brooklyn, lost control and the truck flipped over.
The tanker exploded, with its top blown off. The flames reached and melted a highway sign, which landed across all eight lanes of the expressway. The collapse of the sign threatened emergency responders and forced officials to close all eight lanes of the highway.
The asphalt at the site of the accident was “basically cooked,” one officials told The Times.
The truck driver’s body remained in the vehicle for more than four hours before it could be retrieved.
The driver of the car that the truck clipped, Marie Medina of Bayonne, N.J., was taken to Nassau University Medical Center by helicopter, according to Newsday. The Times said she sustained minor injuries.
Workers spent many hours cleaning up the wreckage, made more difficult because the 11000-gallon tanker still had 1,000 gallons of gasoline, according to the Newsday report.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
http://subtlebraininjury.com
http://car-accident-rain.com