Crash spills diesel on Merrick roadway

A vehicle and a Town of Hempstead sanitation truck collided on Nov. 10 near Babylon Turnpike and Meadowbrook Road. No one was injured, but the crash ruptured the truck’s diesel fuel tank, and Nassau County’s Hazardous Materials Response Division was called to clean up the spill, according to Ron Luparello, spokesman for the Merrick Fire Department.

The crash occurred in front of the department’s Friendship Engine and Hose Company, at 2075 Meadowbrook Road. Two Merrick fire engines, a heavy rescue truck and an ambulance quickly jammed the street. Fire officials called the county’s hazardous materials unit upon spotting the fuel leak.

Vincent McManus, spokesman for the Nassau County Fire Marshal’s Office, said the spill was minor. “We put down some Speedy Dry,” McManus said, referring to absorbent materials used to sop up liquids, “and cleaned up the area. That was it.”