Eyewitness NewsUPTON (WABC) -- All lanes reopened on the Long Island Expressway Thursday morning following a deadly chain-reaction crash that shut down the highway in both directions for more than 15 hours. Crews worked through the night to try to clean up what was left of the 35 vehicles involved in the accident, which happened just before 3 p.m. on an eastbound lane at exit 68 near Upton in Suffolk County.
The fiery crash killed one and injured more than two dozen people. Police say Raymond Simoneau, 42, of Rockingham, Vermont, was driving a tractor-trailer eastbound on the LIE when his vehicle struck a number of cars.The initial collision led to several chain-reaction crashes involving 33 other vehicles.
The tractor-trailer, which was carrying storm debris, and two additional vehicles caught fire and were extinguished by fire department personnel.
A car involved in the initial collision with the tractor-trailer was incinerated beyond recognition, with its tires punctured and paint burned off its body. Some SUVs and cars suffered extensive damage while others appeared to have barely a scratch; all were haphazardly stopped across the highway, which is up to six lanes in parts.
A Blue Point woman, 68, was driving a Toyota Camry eastbound on the LIE when her vehicle was involved in the crash. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Approximately 33 people were injured and were transported to area hospitals, including Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, Brookhaven Memorial Hospital in East Patchogue, Stony Brook University Hospital and St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson.
At least one of those injured, a 57-year-old man, is in serious condition.
The LIE was closed eastbound at exit 66 and westbound at exit 69. All lanes reopened just before 6 a.m.
The cause of the accident hadn't been determined, and no charges had been filed related to it. Investigators were working to sort out the sequence of events that led to the accident.
"Anybody rolling up on this scene you would think there would be definitely more than just one fatality," said John Mirando, chief of the Ridge Fire Department. "It's just lucky that it's only one, but it could have been a lot worse."
CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS FROM THE SCENE OF THE ACCIDENT ON THE LIE
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