Flipped Truck Injures 4 On Long Island Expressway: FDNY

KEW GARDENS HILLS, QUEENS -- An overturned dump truck on the Long Island Expressway injured four people and halted traffic in Queens on Monday afternoon, authorities said.

The tractor-trailer hit a divide on the LIE near Exit 25 in Kew Gardens Hills just after noon and flipped onto its side in the expressway's eastbound lanes, fire officials told Patch.

Debris and leaking fluids spilled from the truck stopped traffic spilled into the LIE's westbound lanes, stopping traffic in both directions, witnesses said. Multiple fire engines, a Hazmat unit and a sand truck responded to the crash.

Four people suffered minor injuries from the crash, which also knocked down a light pole on the expressway, an FDNY spokesman said.

The LIE is closed in both directions between Kissena Boulevard and Utopia Parkway, authorities said.

Drivers in the westbound lanes could go around the truck debris, but eastbound lanes are completely blocked off by the truck, CBS New York reported. Westbound delays stretch back to Cross Island Parkway and eastbound delays span all the way back to the Fairgrounds, according to the news station.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

(Lead photo courtesy of New York City Emergency Management)