LIE reopens after fatal crash that shut down westbound lanes for hours
A traffic camera on the official New York State Department of Transportation 511NY website shows a crash investigation and traffic backed up on the westbound LIE. Credit: 511NY.org
Two early morning crashes that snarled traffic Friday — including a fatal crash that shut down the westbound Long Island Expressway in Queens for hours — have been cleared, police and transportation officials said.
The two incidents, a fatal crash involving a car and a tractor trailer near the Van Wyck Expressway and Grand Central Parkway in Queens and a minor crash involving a water main break and black ice conditions that shut down a major thoroughfare in Smithtown, each occurred around 4:20 a.m. Both were cleared by about mid-morning Friday, officials said.
The NYPD said the LIE incident, reported at 4:27 a.m., involved a collision between 2018 Kenworth tractor trailer and a Toyota Camry at Exit 22B, the exit for the Grand Central at Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
The two drivers — the 50-year-old male driver of the Toyota and the 52-year-old male driver of the tractor trailer — were transported to New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital in Flushing, where police said the Toyota driver was pronounced dead.
Police said the tractor trailer driver was in stable condition and held for evaluation. Police have not released the identities of either driver – and said no charges have been filed.
All lanes of the westbound LIE were closed for hours for the subsequent investigation and cleanup, with traffic diverted onto the service road in the area. Traffic cameras available on the official New York State Department of Transportation 511NY website showed traffic backed up on the LIE eastward across the Cross island Parkway and into Nassau, while traffic also was heavy on the Grand Central Parkway in Queens. At 11 a.m. those cameras showed the incident cleared and traffic operating normally in the area.
Meanwhile, the 511NY website had also reported the closure of West Jericho Turnpike at Route 25A in Smithtown early Friday.
Suffolk County police said an initial incident involving a single-vehicle crash into the cement wall of the Long Island Rail Road train trestle in the area was reported at 4:22 a.m. and that responding police reported water seepage and black ice conditions.
Police said while the driver involved in the crash suffered no significant injuries, responders called for road sanders to address the situation. The NSYDOT was reporting the road was closed between West Main Street and Meadow Road and traffic cameras showed trucks sanding in the area. Police confirmed at 11 a.m. that the road had been reopened.
John Valenti, a Newsday reporter since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press, Society of the Silurians and National Headliner Awards for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing. He is the author of “Swee'pea,” about New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. His debut crime novel, “For Nothing Is Hidden,” rooted in 1950s Long Island, was released in October 2025.
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