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Partly Cloudy Suffolk man killed in fiery crash in Valley Stream
A West Babylon man was killed early Sunday morning in Valley Stream in car fire, after he lost control of his vehicle on Sunrise Highway.
According to Nassau County Police, 32-year-old Anthony Johnson was driving a 2005 Jeep Cherokee westbound on Sunrise Highway when, shortly after 2:45 a.m., lost control and hit a tree just west of Rockaway Avenue. The vehicle burst into the flames.
The Valley Stream Fire Department responded to extinguish the blaze. Chief Joseph Fernandez said there was a report of a person trapped, but the car was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. Johnson's body was discovered in the front seat after the fire was out.
Fernandez said that the vehicle crossed the divider and ended up on the eastbound side. He said it appeared the fuel tank ruptured when the Jeep hit the tree.
Johnson was reported to be an off-duty New York City police officer.
The body and the car were taken to the Nassau County Morgue.
