by Carolyn James and Jill Bongiorni
The first thing that Joshua Sherman heard that caught his attention was a loud smack. When he looked outside of his shop at Minuteman Press at Park Boulevard and Front Street he saw a car, mid-air, flipping over. “I saw the people’s faces,” said Sherman. “They were holding on in shock. I saw them as the car was turning.”
The incident occurred at approximately 2:30 p.m., Weds., July 21 when an SUV and another vehicle collided, and while there were no serious injuries reported, witnesses said the accident was horrifying.
“I heard a bang and screeching brakes,” said Robbie Shannon, the owner of Pequa Hardware. “I opened the door and there was a car coming at me on two wheels. I (was so close) I could have turned it back on its wheels but it fell the other way and just tipped over.”
Police, who declined to identify the operators of the vehicles, rushed to the scene, as did members of the Massapequa Fire Department. Sources said the couple in the SUV were in their 90s and were likely saved by the vehicle’s airbags and by use of their seat belts.
“We can’t stress enough the importance of using seat belts,” said Ass’t. Fire Chief Gerard Keuchler who was in charge at the scene. “Almost all of the time you have a rollover, if the occupants have seat belts on, they are usually okay. Seat belts help absorb and distribute the forces and prevents passengers from being seriously injured or ejected from the vehicle.”
Massapequa volunteers used the Jaws of Life to extricate the couple from the SUV, more to ensure that they were moved around as little as possible than because they were pinned into the vehicle,” said Keuchler.
A Massapequa Fire Department EMT went with Nassau County Emergency personnel as they took the injured to a hospital. The occupants of the second vehicle did not sustain injuries, according to reports.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.
On Sunday, police responded to another automobile accident. This one occurred shortly after 1 p.m. at Merrick Road and Forest Avenue.
“In this accident we had the Massapequa Fire Department and Police Emergency Services Unit work together to remove the occupants of a vehicle with the Jaws of Life, said Massapequa Fire Chief Peter Anglim.
Officials said a commercial van was headed east on Merrick Road and an SUV heading west made a left turn into the Hess Gasoline Station at that intersection. The two vehicles collided and the SUV ended up pinned up against a telephone pole, knocking over a nearby decorative lamppost. The electrical wiring feeding that pole became lodged against the rear axle of the vehicle and the gasoline tank was sparking.
Rescuers quickly removed two occupants from that vehicle and transported them to the hospital. A third victim complained of neck and back injuries but was able to get out of the car without assistance.
No summonses were issued at the scene to either of the operators. The accident is under investigation.