3,000 gallon fuel truck crashes, spilling into street near Jamaica Bay
A truck overturned near Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday afternoon, leaking thousands of gallons of fuel into the street and prompting a response from New York City, Nassau County and federal emergency workers.
The incident happened at 11 a.m. on Wednesday morning when a 3,000-gallon fuel truck crashed on its side near the intersection of Meyer Avenue and Rockaway Boulevard on the border between Nassau County and Queens, according to the FDNY.
Authorities said the truck was carrying gasoline and was blanketed with foam just before 1 p.m. Wednesday. It was not immediately clear how much gas leaked from the truck and if it reached the waterway a few hundred feet away.
Nassau police said the 42-year-old male driver was turning left from East Avenue onto Rockaway Turnpike when his 2024 gas tanker overturned, causing a fuel spill.
Nassau officials said the truck driver refused medical attention and that they are leading the investigation.
A spokesperson for the city’s Department of Environmental Protection said the spill occurred in Nassau and that the county will take the lead, with assistance from the state.
Officials said the fuel company is in the process of pumping out the remaining gasoline in the truck and lifting it upright. Officials added that an environmental company has been hired to address contamination in the waterways and to clean up the roadway.
A spokesperson for the Nassau County Police Department said Rockaway Boulevard was closed in both directions between Peninsula and Brookville boulevards as emergency crews continued to apply foam and contain the fuel in the sewers.
An FDNY spokesperson said several other federal, state and local agencies were responding to contain the fuel from leaking into the sewer and nearby waterway connecting to Jamaica Bay. They include the U.S. Coast Guard, Nassau police and fire marshal, NYC Emergency Management and the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation, along with the local Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department.