by Joseph Kellard
The accident, at the intersection of Lawson Boulevard and Bayside Avenue, ended when the vehicles landed alongside each other in a relatively empty Long Island Rail Road parking lot at about 5:10 p.m. July 15.
³It was a major trauma,² Lynch said. ³It was one of the hardest hits I¹ve ever seen, because the body of the cab was knocked off the chassis rail. That¹s how hard the hit was.²
The driver of the SUV, Shane McCaffrey, 19, of Valley Stream, and a passenger, whom police identified only as a boy in his early teens, were listed in serious but not critical condition, Lynch said. McCaffrey was transported to Mercy Hospital and the minor to Winthrop Hospital, both by ambulances from the OFD¹s Rescue Company.
The cab driver, Sansone Donata of Cassville, who had no passengers in his car, was trapped in his seat and had to be cut out by a team of firefighters, Squad 245, the OFD¹s new extrication rescue unit. A Nassau County police ambulance transported Donata to South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, where he was listed in guarded condition, a hospital spokesperson said on Monday.
³The rescue workers started immediate life support care before they even got him into an ambulance, because his condition was very serious,² said Lynch. ³His breathing was not adequate, so they ventilated him by artificial means with a valve mask.²
Nassau police spokesman Officer Michael Aronsen said that there was no information available on the cause of the accident, but Lynch said it would difficult to determine. He noted that skid marks leading toward the parking lot indicated that one of the vehicles was headed southbound.
A dispatcher at Frank¹s Taxi Service who said his name was Bobby told the Herald that Donata was still in serious condition on Tuesday. ³He¹s on a ventilator right now,² said Bobby. ³Our prayers are with him. He¹s our friend and we hope he pulls through."
