Sunken Meadow State Park reopens after deadly crash
State police on the scene of a vehicle crash at the entrance to Sunken Meadow State Park. A vehicle hit the toll plaza and burst into flames Monday. Credit: Newsday/John Asbury
Sunken Meadow State Park was reopened to the public Tuesday, a day after a fatal car crash and fire near its entrance caused police to close it.
George Gorman, Long Island regional director for state parks, told Newsday the park reopened late Monday following a state police investigation into the crash.
Around 11:15 a.m., police responded to a report of a car that crashed into the toll plaza of the multiuse facility in Kings Park that borders Long Island Sound. The vehicle was engulfed in flames; the driver was killed, officials said.
Due to the extent of the damage, police said they could not immediately identify the driver or type of vehicle left charred in the wreckage.
Trooper Brittany Burton, a state police spokeswoman, said no new details were available Tuesday morning.
The park was closed to the public and reopened late Monday after engineers inspected the toll booth structure and determined it was safe.
The booth at the far left of the structure, one of four at the park's entrance, is the most damaged and will be renovated, Gorman said.
The toll booth area was built in the 1950s and renovated about 10 years ago, he said.
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