By JOSEPH KELLARD
Anthony Bode, 22, of Lindenhurst was driving his 1989 Ford Mustang northbound on Austin Boulevard "at a high rate of speed" at 5:17 p.m. last Tuesday when he swerved into the southbound lane and hit a 2003 Acura minivan driven by Kristine Meyn, 41, of Long Beach, according to Nassau County detectives. On impact, Meyn's vehicle veered to the right and struck a 1977 Corvette driven by Dennis Hogan, 54, of Long Beach.
"I saw the Mustang heading north, and he went to make a U-turn, and the woman in the minivan was in the other lane heading south," said Taskin Sener, an employee at the Liberty gas station on Austin Boulevard, at Kingston Avenue. "He was going so fast and he thought he could make it, but he didn't."
The Island Park Fire Department was first on the scene of the crash, and extricated Bode from his car, the front driver's side of which was crushed. "He was of course pinned between the steering wheel and windshield in the driver's seat," said Joe Annarella, IPFD public information officer. "The jaws of life had to be used to get him out of the car." Bode suffered extensive body trauma, and an IPFD ambulance transported him to South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, police said.
Bode was in his car "with his knees up in his face," Sener said. "There was blood all over him, his face, his legs. It didn't look like he was going to make it."
Meyn suffered a chest and possible neck injuries, and a Nassau County Police helicopter landed on Austin Boulevard to transport her to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow. "She had to be taken out of the car and put on a backboard, and she was helicoptered to the medical center," Annarella said. Meyn's 2-year-old daughter suffered what appeared to be a minor chest injury from the restraining straps of her baby car seat, police said. An IPFD ambulance transported the girl to SNCH.
Sener did not noticed the young girl in the backseat after the crash, but he saw Meyn sitting in the driver's seat, not moving. "The woman in the minivan just looked frozen," he said. "She was holding on to the steering wheel like she was in shock."
Hogan claimed no injuries at the time of the crash.
Bode¹s vehicle was impounded for a safety test, police said. Sener and other witnesses at the scene said that a tank for a nitrous oxide system, which, when activated, provides a boost to a car engine's horsepower, was found in Bode's trunk. Police confirmed that the nitrous oxide equipment was found.
Asked if Bode was possibly driving at a high speed because he was involved in a drag race, Detective Sgt. John Azzata of the Fourth Precinct said, "I'm not going to answer in theoretical terms. All I can say is we're investigating the case and it's an ongoing investigation, and to give any specific information may jeopardize our investigation from the area that we want to get to."
The area has seen its share of serious accidents. In June 2003, a 98-year-old woman was killed while driving her 1983 Cadillac southbound on Austin Boulevard at Kingston Avenue. The collision occurred when the driver of a 1998 Toyota pulled out of the east side of Kingston Avenue, crossing Austin's northbound lanes to get to the southbound lanes, and the woman collided with a man driving beside her in a 2000 Honda civic.
In June 2001, an Oceanside man, Glenn Jacofsky, 43, was killed when he was hit by a motorist, Michael Vasapolli, 30, of North Woodmere, on Lawson Boulevard in Oceanside. Vasapolli drove his Lamborghini into the opposite lane of traffic to get around a Cadillac while drag racing with Kevin Hart, 27, of Malverne, and collided head-on with Jacofsky, who was driving with his wife in their 2000 Volvo. Both Vasapolli and Jacofsky were killed instantly in the crash.
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