Man Critically Injured In Fiery Crash Off Long Island Expressway

WOODBURY, NY — A man was critically injured Tuesday afternoon after police said he drove off the Long Island Expressway and crashed into an overpass, causing his vehicle to burst into flames.

Police said the 34-year-old was rescued from the burning car by good Samaritans. His identity was not released.

At about 3 p.m., the man was driving a 2012 Audi west on the expressway when he veered off the road and struck a cement barrier, launching the vehicle into the cement overpass for the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway, police said. The car caught fire and was "engulfed" in flames, police said.

Dale Bartolomeo, a Huntington Station resident and EMT for the New York City Fire Department, was off-duty and driving on the expressway when he saw the crash, police said. He stopped and reached the driver, who was unconscious, police said. Bartolomeo was joined by two other good Samaritans who helped pull the man from the car, police said.

Nassau County police said officers from the Highway Patrol Bureau, the 2nd Precinct and Emergency Services Unit, along with police medics, performed life-saving measures on the man until a Nassau County police helicopter arrived. The man was airlifted to an area hospital and remained in critical condition Wednesday.