City Sanitation Truck Accident in Queens

QUEENS, N.Y. — A NYC sanitation truck was involved in a huge chain reaction crash that mangled several cars in the Hunters Point neighborhood of Queens. The chain reaction crash totaled eight cars on 21^st Street near 49^th Avenue. At least one-person sustained injuries. That individual was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and was released later in the evening according to a report filed by CBS New York.

The accident scene on 21^stStreet in Queens was unreal according to witnesses. The truck from the NYC Sanitation Department was observed by police on surveillance video and witnesses cruising on 21^StStreet shortly before the crash. Investigators are not sure what happened. However, the truck driver said that he intended to hit the brakes and mistakenly pushed the gas pedal. That mistake caused the large sanitation truck to back into a black sedan that was double-parked on 21^stStreet. The impact with that car was so severe that the car nearly split in half and the vehicle’s airbags deployed. Photos from the scene showed that the car was so mangled that part of the vehicle became entangled in the bumper of the sanitation truck.

Witnesses said that once the truck hit the double-parked car, the sanitation truck continued in reverse and plowed through seven other cars. The force of the impact pushed cars on the sidewalk, shoved one car under another, and left others damaged to the extent that the police described the condition of the vehicles as totaled.

The Sanitation Department said the truck driver was a little dazed after the crash. The Sanitation Department also said that the driver was employed as a truck driver for about one year. Police do not suspect alcohol played any role in the crash. The Sanitation Department has placed its employee on leave and conducted drug and alcohol tests. The truck involved in the crash is now out of service.

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