Driver hurt after tractor trailer strikes LIRR bridge on Montauk Highway in Center Moriches, police say

The 68-year-old driver of a tractor trailer was hospitalized after his truck collided with a Long Island Rail Road bridge and overturned Thursday morning in Center Moriches, police said.

The crash occurred about 8 a.m. on Montauk Highway at the Wilcox Avenue bridge, according to Suffolk County police. Photos from the scene showed the tractor trailer resting on its left side against the bridge's abutment. The driver, whose name was not released, was transported to Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue for treatment of nonlife-threatening injuries, police said.

Neither police nor MTA officials could immediately provide details Thursday on whether the bridge needs to be inspected or how often the bridge has been hit by vehicles in recent years. The bridge is clearly marked — "11' 6", LOW CLEARANCE" — as a warning to drivers.

As of noon Thursday, service on the Montauk Branch of the LIRR was reported to be on or close to schedule.

Fire officials said members of the motor carrier safety unit and volunteers from the Center Moriches Fire Department joined police from Suffolk's Seventh Precinct in responding to the scene.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”