A violent crash turned into a fireball on a Long Island street. A fiery explosion in Medford, in Suffolk County, happened when two cement trucks collided with a car carrier.
Police are treating the site as more than a routine accident. Suffolk police say they have launched a crime scene investigation on Connick Avenue, just east of Buffalo Avenue.
The timeline officials gave was quick and dramatic. The vehicles collided at around 2:30 in the afternoon, and an explosion shortly followed.
Images from the scene showed just how intense the fire was. Viewer video sent to News 12 showed vehicles fully engulfed in flames and thick black smoke shooting into the air.
The people behind the wheel were rushed for treatment. The drivers were taken to Stony Brook University Hospital, and police reached out to find out how they are doing but did not know their condition yet.
The response to the blaze was large. Firefighters from nine different fire departments were on scene, and they explained that the explosions were either the tires or the fuel on the vehicle, but that there was really no other threat and they were able to keep it from spreading.
The crash also left an environmental concern behind. Because of a diesel fuel spill, the state's Department of Environmental Conservation is on scene.