Valley Stream man injured in Greene County van crash

A Valley Stream man was numbered among more than a dozen members of a New York City church group who were hospitalized after a van crashed and overturned last Wednesday on the state Thruway in Greene County, according to state police.

Around 9:30 p.m., Percival Carter, 73, of Jamaica, was driving the 14-passenger van from the Church of God of Prophecy of South Ozone Park when he tried to avoid another vehicle that had changed lanes.

Carter allegedly overcorrected, losing control of the van as it swerved off the road, struck a guard rail, and overturned several times. The driver was not injured. Passenger Herchell M. Blackwood, 63, of Valley Stream, was taken to St. Peter’s Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Emergency crews swiftly responded as all southbound lanes along the I-8 Thruway were shut down for hours and later reopened at 3:45 p.m.

State police said no criminal charges are pending and that no tickets were issued.