Police identify victim in fatal LIE crash
Police said a fatal crash occurred just after 3 a.m. near Exit 41 on the Long Island Expressway in Jericho, backing up rush-hour traffic for miles. (Oct. 12, 2011) Credit: Paul Mazza
A Plainview woman was killed when she apparently rammed into the back of a tractor trailer early Wednesday as she merged her car onto the Long Island Expressway from an entrance ramp in Jericho, Nassau County police said.
The expressway was closed for more than 4 1/2 hours after the accident, as emergency personnel and police investigated the accident scene.
Police said the accident happened at 3:07 a.m. when the driver of a 2009 Kia Sorento, identified by Second Squad detectives as Harriet L. Better, 69, of Plainview, was entering westbound traffic from Exit 41 South. Better "apparently struck the rear of the tractor trailer," police said.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The accident caused a backup that snarled rush-hour traffic for miles, officials said.
The road was reopened at about 7:40 a.m.
Detectives report no apparent criminality in the accident. Both the tractor trailer and the car were impounded for a safety inspection.
Noncommercial traffic during the morning rush hour was urged to use the Northern State Parkway, while commercial drivers were urged to use Jericho Turnpike or other alternate routes.
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