Nassau and Suffolk firefighters extinguish a fire caused when a...

Nassau and Suffolk firefighters extinguish a fire caused when a fuel tanker clipped a sedan, flipped and ignited into a ball of fire on the eastbound side of the LIE near Exit 48. (January 23, 2010) Credit: Paul Mazza

All westbound lanes of the Long Island Expressway reopened between Exits 49 and 48 at 6:10 p.m.. Saturday, 10 hours after a fiery gasoline tanker-truck crash caused the highway to be closed in both directions.

All of the expressway's eastbound lanes remained closed, authorities said.

The crash at about 8 a.m. occurred in the expressway's eastbound lanes, just east of the Nassau-Suffolk county line.

The driver of the gasoline tanker truck - identified by authorities as Mujahid Shah, 41, of Brooklyn - died in the crash.

The westbound lanes' extended closure stemmed in part from the road obstruction posed by the collapse of a huge highway sign that had spanned the entire expressway. The sign collapsed because of intense flames from the tanker crash.

Just before the westbound lanes reopened, a sweeper truck completed cleaning of the westbound HOV lane to rid it of debris such as foam and broken glass.

Crews finished dismantling the portion of the sign in the westbound lanes at about 4 p.m. and put it on a flatbed truck, which then left the scene.

The crash happened near Exit 48, when the tanker-truck struck a car and overturned.

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