Sunrise Highway reopens in Rockville Centre following tanker crash, explosion

Sources say the gasoline tanker was owned by Rocket Express of Bay Shore and was traveling eastbound.

News 12 Staff

Feb 17, 2022, 10:45 AM

Updated 974 days ago

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Crews continued their cleanup Thursday after a massive fire and tanker spill in Rockville Centre.
All lanes of Sunrise Highway have reopened.
Officials say the tanker crashed into a liquor store and then into a former La-Z-Boy furniture store around 1:15 a.m. Wednesday at North Centre Avenue and Sunrise Highway.
Officials say the tanker crashed into a liquor store and then into a former La-Z-Boy furniture store around 1:15 a.m. Wednesday at North Centre Avenue and Sunrise Highway.
Sources say the gasoline tanker was owned by Rocket Express of Bay Shore and was traveling eastbound.
Three firefighters were hurt during the fire but were not seriously injured, the Village of Rockville Centre confirmed. The driver of the tanker also suffered minor injuries.
First responders say that gasoline traveled a quarter of a mile into the storm drains and caused manhole covers to explode. Officials say that was a result of the spill.
"Our electric department, our linemen who not only go up on the poles, but underground, all our wires underground and they went in there at the appropriate time," says Rockville Centre Mayor Francis Murray. "They pumped out the foam thanks to New York State and they went in and there's much damage to those lines."
Murray says no one was seriously injured in the crash and no significant damage was done in the oil spill.