A coach bus crash on the Long Island Expressway late June 29 killed the 35-year-old driver and one passenger, and sent 20 people to hospitals with injuries ranging from stable to critical. All lanes were closed into the morning, disrupting Queens-bound traffic
The night air on the Long Island Expressway turned chaotic after a westbound coach bus veered into a chain reaction — and ended up on the wrong side of the median.
Late the night of June 29, authorities in New York said two people were killed and about 20 others were injured when the bus carrying passengers crashed into other vehicles and flipped over a median into oncoming traffic. Police said they responded to the crash at about 11:45 p.m. ET.
The NYPD said the bus was traveling westbound on the Long Island Expressway when it collided with another vehicle near the exit at Greenpoint Avenue. That first collision, police said, caused the struck vehicle to collide with a third vehicle.
Police added that the initial impact then caused the bus to flip over the median onto eastbound traffic. After landing in the oncoming lanes, the bus collided with two more vehicles traveling in the opposite direction.
The driver of the coach bus was killed, along with one of its passengers, according to the NYPD. Three other drivers who were struck in the collisions were taken to hospitals in stable condition. and one driver was taken to a hospital in critical condition. The NYPD said all other passengers from the bus were also taken to hospitals. Authorities did not release victims’ identities.
New York City Fire Department officials reported that a total of 20 people were taken to hospitals with injuries. The department said three had critical injuries, two had serious injuries, and 15 were stable. Fire officials said it took until 1:58 a.m. on June 30 to get the situation under control.
For drivers, the disruption was immediate and sweeping. The crash caused all lanes of the Long Island Expressway in both directions to be closed into the morning hours of June 30. and traffic headed to the Queens borough was being redirected. city officials said. The city’s emergency notification system warned commuters to expect residual delays on June 30.
The crash is being investigated by officials.
Long Island Expressway crash coach bus accident New York City Fire Department NYPD investigation Greenpoint Avenue exit bus flips median 20 injured