Car collides into building at Long Beach Boulevard

Multiple people were injured in a collision on Long Beach Boulevard and East Pine Street on Thursday after a pickup truck speeding down the busy road swerved and crashed into an auto repair shop, officials said.

According to the Long Beach Fire Department, the incident occurred at 3:41 p.m. and the building suffered structural damage. Firefighters and police responded to the scene and motorists were advised to avoid the area. Heavy traffic was reported in the area, especially on the northbound side.

“A male 18-year-old was speeding [north on] Long Beach Road at the same time a vehicle was going south on Long Beach Road looking to make the left onto East Pine Street,” said Police Commissioner Michael Tangney. “The driver of that vehicle aborted the left turn and made a U-turn to stay out of the way. [The 18-year-old] overcorrected to avoid the collision and drove into the building.”

Two of the four people in the pickup truck — all reportedly teenagers or adults in their 20s — suffered minor injuries, Tangney said, as one was taken to Winthrop Hospital and the other to South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside. The woman driving the other vehicle was not involved in the collision.

“It happened so fast, and with the smoke, the airbags and everything, the kids were freaking out,” said Phil Campbell, who was working next door at Mavis Discount Tire when the vehicle smashed into the adjacent auto repair store. “We pulled them out of the car and took them inside.”

Tangney said in addition to Long Beach police and firefighters, a special structural team from Freeport Fire Department joined the effort to secure the building, which originally was thought to be in danger of collapsing. Mutual aid ambulances were brought in from Atlantic Beach Rescue, Inwood, Point Lookout-Lido, Island Park and the Oceanside fire Departments for assistance, according to the LBFD.

“We’ve had so many accidents out here, so we’re used to it,” Campbell said. “We heard the sound, but we didn’t know it was going to be this bad.”