1 Dead, Dozens Hurt in Fiery Pileup on Long Island Expressway

A wreck involving at least 25 vehicles on the Long Island Expressway near Exit 68 in the town of Shirley has killed one person and injured at least 32.

At least two vehicles caught fire, including a tractor-trailer. ABC reports three people in critical condition, and News12 reports one dead.

Newsday reports at least 32 injured.

Fios1 reports 18 injured being treated Peconic Medical Center alone. NBC reports 11 victims treated at Brookehaven Memorial Hospital.

Of the 18 patients at Peconic, some were children in car seats. Injuries include broken legs and whiplash-style injuries, but two patients there there have “more serious” injuries.

The highway, Long Island’s primary east-west artery, is closed in both directions between exits 66 and 69.

Cops say the crash occurred at 2:40 p.m.

CBS New York reports it involved three tractor-trailers, but one was at the center of the chaos:

Preliminary information indicates that a tractor-trailer filled with wood-chips and mulch, heading east to a landfill, rear-ended and then plowed through more than a dozen vehicles that had slowed to merge from three lanes to one near Exit 68, CBS 2′s Jennifer McLogan reported.

The driver of the 18-wheeler was pulled from the truck before it caught fire, reports NBC New York. He has only minor injuries and is cooperating with investigators.