RSS 2.0 FeedSeptember 29, 2011, Bellmore Life
Truck slams into Bellmore Post Office
Newsday delivery truck hit post office in early morning accident.
A Newsday delivery truck heading east on its regular early morning route hit a bump on Merrick Road and Centre Avenue and slammed into the Bellmore Post Office, sending the driver to the hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries.
The incident occurred at 1:10 a.m., according to Nassau police, resulting in no other injuries.
Alex Eitan, who lives nearby on Centre Avenue, told Bellmore Life he was awakened by a large noise after 1 a.m., a noise he normally attributes to cars that hit a small ditch in the road at the corner of Centre and Merrick.
"It was a larger-than-normal-noise, to be sure,” he added.
An official at the site said there was substantial damage to the steel beam, which was severely bent, but the damage could be quickly repaired.
Immediately after impact, the truck began to spill diesel fuel all over the road, according to a Bellmore fire official. Both the Bellmore and North Bellmore Fire Departments responded to the accident, as did the Nassau County Fire Marshal's Office and the Nassau police department's hazardous materials (Haz-Mat) unit.
Police would not comment on the speed the Newsday truck was traveling when it careened into the post office.
A mobile office has been set up outside for postal services.
“A Newsday truck was heading east when it hit a bump in the road, causing a jostling of paper bundles inside the truck,” a police spokesman said.
He said the driver then reached to catch bundles from falling out the passenger side when he fell out of the passenger side of the truck. The truck then veered left into the the post office.
A mobile post office has been set up in the parking lot next to the building for patrons to receive services.
The damage was in the process of being cleared and assessed, and will require a crane to replace the beam, Bellmore Life learned.
