One killed as storm makes way across LI

A deceptively strong winter storm slammed Long Island Wednesday, leading to the death of at least one woman and leaving many roads with a slick sheet of ice.

The combination of strong winds and an even more powerful snowstorm was expected to dump more snow across southeastern Long Island overnight and into early this morning, meteorologists said. As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, about 5 inches of snow had fallen in many parts of Long Island. Some areas were predicted to receive a foot of snow.

Wednesday, the first wave of snow started falling just as school buses hit the slick roads and commuters headed to work, surprising some highway departments. Forecasters had initially said the morning would be chilly but free of snow.

"Our crews are out there right now, and yes, we were expecting rain through this morning, so we are a little surprised," state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Eileen Peters said Wednesday.

By Wednesday night, the storm had forced several Long Island towns to declare snow emergencies, canceled nearly 100 flights at Kennedy and La Guardia airports and caused more than 200 fender benders and other minor traffic collisions in Nassau and Suffolk counties, police said.

The snow caused at least one fatality. A Mastic Beach woman was struck and killed yesterday afternoon by a pickup truck plowing a Center Moriches bus company parking lot, police said.

Doris Metz, 64, an employee of the First Student Charter Bus Rental Co., 180 Railroad Ave., was struck as she was walking to a company office building at 2:40 p.m., Suffolk police said.

Edward Grundstrom, 47, of Manorville, another employee of the company, was plowing the lot. Grundstrom apparently didn't see Metz because of the poor visibility, police said, and struck her when he backed up the vehicle.

Another woman was killed in a midday traffic accident but police had not said it was storm-related Wednesday night.

Svitlana Shvets, 42, of Lindenhurst, died after the car she was driving crossed over into oncoming traffic on Jericho Turnpike in Smithtown yesterday afternoon, striking two cars before crashing into a snow bank, police said.

Long Island Rail Road officials will run a reduced weekday morning rush-hour schedule Thursday, canceling 14 of the 143 westbound morning rush-hour trains. Buses also will replace train service on the Montauk branch east of Speonk and on the Main Line east of Ronkonkoma to Greenport.

Despite the expected overnight snow, officials expected few streets to go unplowed.

Towns and state DOT, in a bid to get ahead of the storm Wednesday, sent out plows to clear roads and paths as the snow piled up. The DOT said 200 trucks and 400 workers were on the roads throughout the day.

With John Valenti, Gary Dymski and Jessica Lewis