From the archives: An ill wind......whips across the island

This story was originally published in Newsday on February 13, 2009.

Fierce winds blew through Long Island yesterday, reaching near hurricane-force gusts that ripped limbs off trees, took over steering wheels and downed utility poles.

A Bohemia man was killed in a construction accident on Staten Island, and 10 were injured in two Long Island Rail Road incidents that also were apparently wind-related.

The National Weather Service issued an advisory as winds around 35 mph persisted. Gusts reached 60 mph in Islip - the highest recorded in the tristate area.

The winds were expected to subside by early today.

Rough LIRR commute

The wind did much of its worst damage on the train tracks during the morning commute.

Shortly after 8 a.m., a westbound Oyster Bay double-decker traveling at about 45 mph crashed into a downed LIRR communications pole in Albertson, LIRR spokesman Joe Calderone said.

LIRR engineer Brian Keating spotted the fallen pole and applied the emergency brake, then pulled a woman who sat near the front of the train "out of harm's way," Calderone said. Two people were hospitalized after complaining of back and arm pain.

"If [Keating] hadn't applied the brakes as soon as he did, we definitely could have seen additional damage," Calderone said.

Just minutes after that accident, a westbound train approaching the Bethpage station crashed into a crossing gate "swinging in the wind" at the Broadway intersection, shattering a train window, LIRR officials said. Eight people were injured, hospital officials said.

LIRR is investigating both incidents, officials said.

Hampered roadways

It was the kind of day when you had to be extra careful opening your car door in a parking lot. If you weren't, you might have had to answer for the dent in the adjacent vehicle.

State Department of Transportation crews responded to several reports of downed trees and debris, as well as three fallen signs on the Long Island Expressway and Northern State Parkway,DOT spokeswoman Eileen Peters said.

The Throgs Neck Bridge in the Bronx was closed for two hours after a tractor-trailer was blown over. No one was injured. High winds prompted officials to close the upper level of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge about 2 p.m.

In South Hempstead, a utility pole was blown down at 1 p.m. at Exit 20 of the Southern State Parkway. In North Babylon, a 35-foot tree was felled at 9:42 a.m. by a 50-mph gust, authorities said.

Winds threatening to blow over a tree along the Southern State Parkway closed one westbound lane in North Bellmore for about two hours until workers could remove it.

In Huntington, a 100-foot tree blew down on Ash Place about 8 a.m., crushing Adam Cirlincione's 2008 Acura sport utility vehicle in his driveway. Had it been 10 minutes later, he and his young children might have been in the car.

"It's not such a bad day," said Cirlincione, a podiatrist.

The tree fell as he, his wife and their two children, ages 3 and 5, were inside having breakfast. It also took out power lines to the house and destroyed part of a fence between his and a neighbor's home. Cirlincione said his homeowner's insurance agent told him that he might not be fully covered.

"It'll cost some money, but if you look at it that way, that's all it will cost," he said.

Flight delays

At Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports, "hundreds" of flights were delayed, according to Port Authority spokesman Pasquale DiFulco.

Heavy crosswinds limited the use of several runways throughout the day, causing some flights to be backed up for as long as three hours. At one point, Newark had use of just one runway, DiFulco said.

With less congestion, Long Island Islip MacArthur Airport had only scattered delays.

Power's out

The Long Island Power Authority reported 11,359 wind-related outages from midnight to noon yesterday.

Some 3,000 customers were without electricity by 6 p.m. as crews worked to restore power. A third of those outages were in Oyster Bay.

"The wind is quite frisky," LIPA spokesman Ed Dumas said.

Construction fatality

Violent winds toppled a concrete wall, killing a Bohemia man doing carpentry in Staten Island, authorities said.

The wall collapsed onto Robert L. McGee, 59, as he worked at a construction site on Bay Street in Rosebank about 8:12 a.m., authorities said.

McGee was on the second floor of a two-story building laying down metal tracks when the wall collapsed, said Buildings Department spokesman Tony Sclafani. He was declared dead at the scene.

Sclafani said the site had no safety violations.

Spreading fire

A wind-flamed fire in Queens spread to 11 homes and injured eight people yesterday, none seriously, fire officials said.

The fire was first reported at 12:30 p.m. at a two-story home on 96th Street in Woodhaven. About 230 firefighters and EMS personnel were eventually called to the scene but were unable to bring the fire under control until about 3:30 p.m., officials said.

Jonathan Starkey and staff writers John Valenti, Matthew Chayes and Bill Mason contributed to this story.