Tragedy Avoided On Jamaica Avenue

All of the ingredients for disaster were there.  It was a beautiful day - nice weather, lots of people out on a holiday weekend shopping on a busy part of Jamaica Avenue.  The driver of a truck carrying flammable material loses control and swerves towards a bus stop and the busy sidewalk behind it . . .

But tragedy was avoided late this afternoon when the driver of a tanker apparently suffered a seizure and lost control of the vehicle on Jamaica Avenue, near Forest Parkway.  The vehicle slammed into one of the El Train's stanchions, smack dab in the middle of a bus stop.  Luckily, no one was struck by the vehicle, or by any debris, and there were no injuries. 

The truck, which was operated by a driver for Bulk Mustank Carriers in Brooklyn, was secured by the NYPD, and moved into a safer position alongside the curb.  Traffic was held up and many cars made U-turns and looked for alternate routes.  Buses did not have that luxury and had to sit and wait it out. 

The driver of the vehicle was treated at the scene and transported to Jamaica Hospital for further observation.  According to one of the officers at the scene, the driver (who was approximately in his 40s), suffered a slight seizure behind the wheel but was feeling much better.  Below, you can see that the officers and EMTs were relieved that a bad situation -- one that could have been far worse -- was over without the loss of any lives, or serious injury.  As always, these folks do outstanding work and deserve our thanks. 

With the truck at the curb, the officers began to guide some of the traffic through, relieving the congestion that had built up. 

The stanchion looked none the worse for wear.  Heck, some of these things along Jamaica Avenue are crumbling apart if you brush against them.  This one took on a truck head on and suffered nothing more than a light scratch.  Go figure!  

In summary, we were very lucky this afternoon in Woodhaven.  If you have any comments, or would like to suggest other projects, drop us a line at info@projectwoodhaven.com or projectwoodhaven@aol.com.  

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