Driver injured in Long Beach crash

Ambulette overturns in collision with pesticide truck

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The driver of a local ambulette was injured after it collided with a pesticide truck and flipped over on East Park Avenue early Friday morning.

The crash occurred just after 9 a.m. at the intersection of Monroe Boulevard and East Park Avenue. No patients were inside the ambulette when the collision occurred, but the vehicle overturned and the driver was taken to South Nassau Communities Hospital with a minor injury, Long Beach Fire Chief Rich DiGiacomo said.

Both drivers had escaped their vehicles before firefighters arrived at the scene.

“Thankfully, there were no passengers in the medi-cab,” the Fire Department said on its facebook page. “One driver refused medical attention, and the other was transported to South Nassau Communities Hospital in stable condition with an arm laceration.”

DiGiacomo said that the collision caused the release of 10 to 20 gallons of pesticides on the street, which were removed by crews from the city’s Highway Department. Traffic in the area was backed up for about 30 minutes.

"There was no hazardous materials left,” DiGiacomo said. "The pesticides were cleaned by the city's Highway Department — they removed it and spread sand out."

The ambulette was a nonemergency vehicle being used to take senior citizens for dialysis and other treatments, DiGiacomo said.

DiGiacomo added that he was unsure if police issued either driver any violations, and said the cause of the crash was under investigation.