Police, Malverne FD Rescue Two in Parkway Crash

Two people were seriously injured Sunday morning when the vehicle they were travelling in overturned on the Southern State Parkway near Malverne.

Around 9:35 a.m. about 15 members of the Malverne Volunteer Fire Department arrived to the scene of the accident, located between Exits 16 and 17 on the westbound side of the parkway. They pulled up along the shoulder with two engines and a heavy rescue truck to find a Ford Explorer flipped over in the left lane. The airbags had deployed and two men, who appeared to be in their 20s or 30s, were pinned inside, according to Malverne Fire Chief Daniel Morgan.

"The driver was partially ejected from the car.. half in and half out," Morgan said.

Working with the Nassau County Police Emergency Service Unit, he said the firefighters extracted both men from the vehicle using the "jaws of life."

"They both were seriously injured," Morgan added, explaining that the driver had to be transported to a hospital via a helicopter while his passenger left in an ambulance.

Morgan commended his firefighters and the Nassau County Police for their quick response time and hard work.

"They all did a great job," he said.

The westbound lanes of the parkway were closed for nearly two hours with traffic being forced to exit at Hempstead Avenue. The overflow caused backups on many of the local streets in Malverne and West Hempstead as well.

Morgan said as he pulled away from the scene, New York State Police were still investigating the cause of the crash.