Vehicle overturn uptick worries Lynbrook officials

Since April, Lynbrook has seen an alarming rise in vehicle overturn accidents, with seven reported in just four months. The unprecedented increase has officials on alert.

According to village Fire Chief Scott Bien, this is the highest number of vehicle overturns in such a short period ever recorded in the village.

“Peninsula Boulevard, especially the stretch from Sunrise Highway to Hempstead Avenue, has been particularly problematic,” Eric Bruen, the Lynbrook Police Department’s Highway Patrol supervisor, said. In this area, there have been three overturns and one fatality this year.

“Traffic safety is very near and dear to me,” said Police Chief Brian Paladino, who emphasized the need for urgent measures to mitigate the situation.

Several factors contribute to the accidents, including road design flaws, inadequate signage, challenging weather conditions and reckless driving, the officials said.

“The cutout by South Neiman Avenue on Peninsula Boulevard is especially dangerous,” Bruen explained. “It allows northbound drivers to make a left turn across southbound lanes, which has led to several collisions.” His recommendation is a redesign to eliminate the hazardous cutout and create a dedicated turn lane to Merrick Road.

“Nassau County is going to conduct a road engineering study to give us options,” Bruen added. In the interim, the village plans to enhance road markings and increase signage, he said.

Recent accidents are evidence of the severity of the situation. On May 2, at 5:05 a.m., a refrigerated box truck crashed into a Mercedes Benz at the intersection of Hempstead Avenue and Peninsula Boulevard. Firefighters cut out the truck’s windshield to rescue the driver, who was taken to Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital, in Oceanside, with non-life-threatening injuries.

The Mercedes took down a traffic light stanchion. Firefighters had to contain leaking fluids from the vehicle, an indication of the danger and complexity of such rescue operations.

On the same day, at roughly 5:30 p.m., the Lynbrook Fire Department extrication team responded to a reported overturn and entrapment on Hendrickson Avenue, near Dawes Avenue. The driver of one vehicle apparently clipped the rear of a parked pickup truck on Hendrickson, causing her vehicle to flip over, trapping her inside.

Tally-Ho Engine Company 3 used cutting tools to detach the roof from the car and safely remove the driver, who was examined by Northwell Health paramedics and taken to a hospital.

On June 28, a driver experienced a medical episode while at the wheel on Peninsula Boulevard, between Earl and Vincent avenues, and the vehicle crossed lanes of traffic, struck a tree and overturned. Firefighters had to remove the windshield to extricate the unconscious driver, who was taken to Mount Sinai South Nassau. The southbound lanes of Peninsula Boulevard were closed for over an hour during the rescue operation.

Local elected officials, as well, have expressed their concern about these incidents. County Legislator Bill Gaylor has requested that the county’s Department of Public Works conduct a traffic study in Lynbrook.

“We have several capital projects for the Lynbrook area,” Gaylor said, “including a redesign of the Five Points intersection at the center of Lynbrook” — the intersection of Merrick Road, Hempstead Avenue, Atlantic Avenue, Broadway and Peninsula Boulevard. The project aims to improve traffic flow and safety by relocating crosswalks and bus stops and installing traffic-calming devices.

The increase in vehicle overturns has also raised concerns in neighboring East Rockaway. While not experiencing the same frequency of incidents, East Rockaway officials said they are monitoring the situation, in the interest of preventing them in their village.

Lynbrook officials said that with the combination of immediate intervention measures and long-term planning, they hope to reduce the number of accidents and make village roads safer.

Have an opinion on the state of the roads in Lynbrook and East Rockaway? Send a letter to jbessen@liherald.com.