NYPD: Westbury man dies after hitting tractor trailer at LIE exit
A Westbury man died Tuesday after his Jeep collided with a parked tractor trailer as he exited the westbound Long Island Expressway / Queens Midtown Expressway in Queens, police said.
The fatal crash, which occurred at 1:36 p.m. in Maspeth, forced a road closure that caused an hourslong delay for traffic leading to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel.
The NYPD identified the victim as Kevin Hurtes, 27, of Fifth Avenue.
Hurtes was driving a 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee westbound on the Queens Midtown Expressway, the portion of the LIE leading to the tunnel, when he exited at Grand Avenue — and hit the tractor trailer, which was stopped or parked near the Mazeau Street overpass, according to the NYPD.
Police said Hurtes suffered “head and body trauma” and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The tractor trailer driver was not injured.
No one has been charged and the Collision Investigation Squad is continuing to investigate, the NYPD said.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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