Crime & Safety
Motorists Hospitalized After Head-on Collision on Lido Blvd.
Both drivers "have serious injuries," fire chief says.
Two motorists were hospitalized after a head-on collision in Lido Beach early Friday morning.
The accident occurred at 630 Lido Blvd., outside Lido Beach Town Park, during the 8 a.m. hour, after which two helicopters were sent to the scene, according to Nassau County Police Department and Point Lookout-Lido Fire Department.
“It was a head-on collision and both patients have serious injuries,” PLLFD Chief Brian Guerin told Patch.
The helicopters transported the motorists, a man and a woman who were both driving alone, to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow. NUMC did not immediately have information on the accident victims.
The fire department received a call about the accident at about 8:30 a.m., Guerin said, and when firefighters arrived at the scene both cars were on the eastbound side of the boulevard. Both the PLLFD and Nassau County Emergency Services Unit used power tools to extricate the motorists from their vehicles.
One passerby, who was driving eastbound to work and glanced at the accident scene at about 8:40 a.m., said the cars were “totally demolished. One up on a fence and another on the street with someone being cut from an auto. Or so it seemed. Lots of firemen at the driver window and inside the car.”
Guerin said that firefighters, as well as Nassau County police, were at the scene for somewhere between one hour to 90 minutes, and had to close down the eastbound road to one lane. “Traffic was backed up there pretty good for a while, especially on the eastbound side,” Guerin said. “... Traffic was moving but it was very slow. The westbound side was unaffected other than rubbernecking.”
A Kensington Street resident said that she tried to pull out of her street onto Lido Boulevard at about 8:40 a.m. when she realized there was a problem.
"I backed up and went home to wait it out, heard the helicopters and walked over to Anchor Park to see what was going on," she said. "It appears the accident was just past Anchor Park. I watched an emergency vehicle transport a patient to the police helicopter and that's about it. Traffic finally cleared at about 9:50 a.m."
* This story was updated at 12:47 a.m. on 6.8.12.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.