Dix Hills FD Responds to Three Crashes

By Steve Silverman

Dix Hills Fire Department volunteers were kept busy Thursday afternoon, June 5, responding to three motor vehicle accidents within the time span of an hour.

The first accident involved a teenager struck by a car on Astro Place at about 4:25 p.m. Two ambulances three heavy rescue trucks, and a paramedic unit were dispatched, with two rescue trucks redirected to secure the Helicopter Landing Zone at Half Hollow Hills High School East on Vanderbilt Parkway. The patient was transported by Dix Hills Rescue Squad ambulance to the high school, transferred to a Suffolk Police Medivac and airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital with head injuries. Assistant Chiefs Tom Napolitano and Alan Berkowitz directed operations.

The second accident occurred at about 5 p.m., on the Long Island Expressway, eastbound lanes between Deer Park Avenue and Commack Road. The crash involved a limousine and four other vehicles. One male suffered back and neck injuries, and was transported by Dix Hills Rescue Squad ambulance to Good Samaritan Hospital. Two heavy rescue trucks, two ambulances, and paramedic unit were dispatched, under the command of Assistant Chiefs Robert Fling, Tom Napolitano and Alan Berkowitz.

The third crash occurred about 5:30 p.m., with Heavy Rescue for a trapped occupant on Deer Park Avenue and Half Hollow Road. The two car collision injured a female, who was extricated from the car by Dix Hills firefighters. The patient sustained back and neck injuries, and was transported to Huntington Hospital by the Dix Hills Rescue Squad. Three heavy rescue trucks, an ambulance and paramedic responder were on the scene, led by Assistant Chiefs Robert Fling, Tom Napolitano and Alan Berkowitz.

The Greenlawn Fire Department provided a standby ambulance, that was stationed at Dix Hills Fire Department headquarters to handle any additional alarms.

Pictured: Dix Hills volunteer firefighters and rescue personnel transfer patient to a Suffolk Police Medivac helicopter at the Half Hollow Hills High School East.

Photo Courtesy Dix Hills Fire Department