Crash shuts down Merrick Road

Updated: Monday, Dec. 21, 12:27 p.m.

A car accident near Beach Drive and Merrick Road in Merrick closed about a quarter-mile of the westbound traffic lane on Merrick Road for more than three hours last Wednesday morning, sources said.

Tim Rogers, owner of A Merrick A Vac, on the north side of Merrick Road, just east of Beach Drive and west of McDonald's, said a car flipped over in front of his store in the early morning, taking out a Long Island Power Authority pole and causing unknown injuries to the driver.

"I heard the guy got pretty hurt, but I think he's going to make it," said Rogers, adding that he suspects ice on the road may have contributed to the accident.

Rogers was at home at the time of the incident and did not see it happen. He rushed to work on his day off at about 7:40 a.m. when a friend called alerting him to the mayhem outside of his store. He said wood, glass and contents from the overturned vehicle were strewn about the property. Rogers said he had seen men working on a nearby corner, as well as water on the street that may have come from that area.

Sources said Verizon was seen working in the area and pumping water into the street. A source at the scene said a cable was out on Merrick Road.

A Verizon spokesman confirmed that the company was doing work on a cable near the Babylon Turnpike-Merrick Road intersection that required water to be pumped from a manhole into the street.

"Today, after the accident happened, we did have a manager and a safety manager out at the site, and we determined everything we were doing there was within safety guidelines," Verizon spokesman John Bonomo said. He said he eyeballed the manhole to be about 800 feet from the accident site.

Sand was poured on the north side of Merrick Road from Babylon Turnpike to Beach Drive to prevent icing. Even still, cars were seen skidding as they came to a short stop at the corner of Beach, outside of the AT&T store.

During the morning rush hour, traffic was backed up at Babylon Turnpike and Merrick Road, outside of the entrance to Levy-Lakeside Elementary School.

A LIPA spokesperson said the pole was replaced by noon on Wednesday, and no power was lost. Nassau County Police had no comment on the crash as of press time.

Scott Brinton contributed to this story.