Upstate man killed in crash that closed part of LIE for 8 hours, police say

A truck driver from Orange County was killed when he hit another vehicle on the Long Island Expressway in Lake Ronkonkoma on Tuesday and slammed into the concrete embankment of an overpass, Suffolk police said.

John Palmer, 28, of Maybrook, was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after the 12:15 p.m. crash, which shut the westbound lanes at Exit 60, the Hawkins Avenue overpass, for almost eight hours, police said.

The driver of the other vehicle, a Kia Sportage, was not injured, police said.

Images from the scene show the entire truck wedged on the concrete embankment under the overpass, its cargo area crumpled.

Kevin Murray, first assistant chief of the Ronkonkoma Fire Department, said he spoke to the Kia's driver.

"He said he was rear-ended," said Murray, whose department responded, along with Lakeland firefighters.

After the crash, the box truck then veered off the road onto the shoulder and climbed the embankment, Murray said. He said the truck's cargo area was empty.

The name on the truck door was Baxter Healthcare, which appears to be a global medical products company headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois. A company representative could not be reached Tuesday evening.

Both vehicles were impounded for safety checks, police said.

Fourth Precinct detectives are investigating the cause of the crash and ask anyone with information to call them at 631-854-8452.