One seriously hurt in LIE 3-car crash in Syosset

An 83-year-old Brooklyn man was seriously injured in a three-vehicle crash on the Long Island Expressway in Syosset Thursday morning, police said, after he stopped his car in the HOV lane when he got a flat tire.

The accident took place after the Brooklyn man stopped his car in the HOV lane, and police said, another vehicle driven by a 54-year-old Seaford man crashed with the rear of that car. A third vehicle, driven by a 36-year-old from Elmhurst, Queens, crashed into the second vehicle, police said.

The injured Brooklyn man, whose name was not released by Nassau police, was taken to a hospital for treatment of multiple traumas. The 54-year-old driver suffered chest pains at the scene and was treated at a hospital and released. The driver of the third vehicle was not injured.

A medical helicopter sent to the scene and transported the elderly man, police said. The accident and emergency unit response resulted in the closing of the LIE for about 31/2 hours, police said.

The crash occurred near Exit 43, South Oyster Bay Road, at 11 a.m., Nassau County police said. The roadway between exits 43 and 44, the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway, was closed by police until about 2:30 p.m.

Police said there did not appear to be any criminality involved in the accident.