By Dave Vieser and Leslie Gonzalez
Safety concerns cited in 2nd Lynbrook fatality
In the second fatal accident on Sunrise Highway this month, a 53 year old Valley Stream resident was killed last week in Lynbrook when his car was crushed by an overturned tractor trailer. Police later charged the operator of the truck with driving while his New York State license was suspended. They also issued multiple summons to the truck driver for equipment violations.
The two fatal accidents have rekindled concern among local officials and residents concerning the safety of Sunrise Highway as it passes through the center of the village, especially regarding the many trucks traveling through Lynbrook.
"These were two accidents with tragic circumstances," said Lynbrook Mayor Gene Scarpato. "I was particularly distressed to learn of the violations and summons issued to the truck driver after last week's fatality. Drivers with suspended licenses and unsafe trucks do not belong on our roads, and I certainly hope those found guilty will be punished to the full extent of the law."
According to Nassau Police, the operator of the truck, Frank Rosado, 24, of Brooklyn, who works for Nino's Sand and Gravel in Calverton, was driving eastbound through heavy fog on Sunrise Highway at about 3:20 A.M. Thursday, when he failed to negotiate a curve in the roadway near Atlantic Avenue. Mr. Rosado, who suffered minor injuries in the accident reportedly lost control of the truck, which fishtailed and rolled over on its passenger side. The trailer, which was full of heavy sand and gravel, fell on top of a 1986 Chevrolet, crushing the car and killing its driver, Frank Lentino of 32 Broadway in Valley Stream.
It took emergency response teams over three hours to extract Frank Lentino from his car. He was pronounced dead at the scene shortly before 7 A.M. Rush hour traffic on Sunrise Highway was snarled during the morning rush hour, and the road was not completely cleared until 10:00AM.
This marks the second fatal accident in less than a month along Sunrise Highway between Atlantic and Forest Avenues. Just over two weeks ago, Gertrude Dowdell, 80, of Lynbrook was struck and killed as she attempted to cross at the Forest Avenue intersection.
Lynbrook Police report that there have been approximately 80 accidents at the Sunrise Highway/Forest Avenue intersection within the last five years. "The roads in Nassau were really not built for these large trucks and the high volume of traffic that we witness on a daily basis," said Detective Fred Fusswinkle of the Lynbrook force.
He noted that many trucks used to get stuck under the Sunrise Highway-LIRR trestle in Lynbrook until the State shaved down the roadway pavement a few years back
In addition to the area's proximity to local schools and shopping areas, Lynbrook's section of Sunrise Highway by Atlantic and Forest Avenues is also particularly vulnerable to accidents due to limited sight distance by the same overpass, that partially obstructs the view of the Forest Avenue traffic light for eastbound drivers.
"This area is really very dangerous, because you can't see past the train tracks," describes Patrick Boccio, a Lincoln Place resident and bystander to the earlier pedestrian accident. "The light at Forest Avenue changes twenty seconds after that one," he said, describing Atlantic and Forest Avenue's consecutive light changes as roughly twenty second apart. Mr. Boccio claims he has seen at least five accidents at the Sunrise Highway-Forest Avenue intersection, as eastbound drivers often pass the first light at Atlantic Avenue with accelerated speed, and do not realize the second light at Forest is still red.
Also cited as a continuing safety concern is the curve which motorists must negotiate as they pass Atlantic Avenue, eastbound, on Sunrise Highway. The curve is just before the LIRR Long Beach Branch trestle.
Police do provide intensified patrols of the area, but offer little optimism that the problems associated with heavy traffic will cease to exist in the near future. "The reality is that Sunrise is the main corridor for trucks traveling between New York City and the south shore, and that means virtually all of them have to pass right through Lynbrook," Detective Fusswinkle concluded.
