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See it: surveillance video shows tanker crash that left major roadway shut down

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, L.I. (PIX11) — One of New York State’s busiest roadways reopened early Thursday, 24 hours after a commercial building was destroyed when a gasoline tanker truck overturned and exploded next to it. An investigation into what happened continued Thursday.

Surveillance video of the crash shows the tanker driving east on Sunrise Highway at 1:09 a.m. Its cab turns over first, then the tank unit. A fireball erupts almost immediately. 

Investigators said that they’re looking at a variety of factors as they investigate the incident.  

The fuel tanker crashed into the former La-Z-Boy furniture showroom along the highway. It had been empty, and out of use, for months.  

The tanker also struck a liquor store across the street, before its 9,200 gallons of gasoline spilled out onto the road and ignited into a massive blaze.

“It’s one of the worst things I’ve seen in my 47-year career,” Rockville Centre Fire Chief James Avondet said at the scene Wednesday morning. He said both buildings were in flames when he arrived on the scene just after 1:10 a.m.

“When I came here, there was fire everywhere; in the street, the tanker, the two buildings. When I looked down Sunrise Highway, there was fire coming out of seven or eight manhole covers, all the way down, about a quarter-mile down the road,” Avondet said.

The chief said the fire had extended to the exterior of the liquor store across the street. He added that about 125 firefighters from 18 different fire departments responded to battle the blaze. Firefighters were still dousing hot spots with water from cranes at around 10 a.m.

The driver of the tanker, whose name had not been released, was able to get out of the overturned truck and was found laying on the ground nearby, authorities said. Police arrived and pulled him away from the scene before he was taken to an area hospital. Doctors concluded that he was well enough to not be held. He spent much of Wednesday being interviewed by investigators. 

Two responding firefighters were also hospitalized for minor injuries, authorities said. They have both since been released.

It was not known if any other vehicles were involved or what may have led to the fiery crash.

Just about 24 hours after the fiery crash, all lanes of Sunrise Highway reopened around 1:15 a.m. Thursday. The busy roadway had been completely shut down in both directions in the area for the majority of Wednesday.

Officials originally said they didn’t expect the highway to reopen in the area until New York State Dept. of Transportation officials deem the area safe for travel. The complete demolition of the former furniture showroom was the first of a number of steps required for the roadway to get approval for traffic, according to Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County Executive.

Nassau County government and fire officials held a briefing at 7:30 a.m. Watch in full:

Editor’s note: Fire officials originally said the tanker was carrying 13,000 gallons of fuel, but later reported it was about 9,200 gallons.