Police ID man killed in multivehicle crash in Plainview that left 6 others injured

Police have identified the 71-year-old driver who was killed Thursday afternoon in a crash in Plainview involving seven automobiles along a major Long Island roadway.

John Purdue, 71, of Uniondale, was pronounced dead at a local hospital after the 1:58 p.m. crash Thursday, police said in a news release Friday night.

According to police, the first of the crashes happened when Purdue, going west in a 2018 Nissan Murano on Old Country Road, struck the rear driver's side of a 2012 Toyota minivan driven by a 44-year-old man who was turning left onto the road.

Purdue then crossed into eastbound traffic, "colliding with a 2007 Volvo, operated by a 50-year-old female and a 2020 Kia driven by a 35-year-old female," the release said.

Purdue kept going on the road and then "struck a 2009 Volkswagen Rabbit, driven by a 49-year-old female, also occupied by a 24-year-old passenger," the release said.

"The Volkswagen Rabbit was then involved in a collision with a 2013 Toyota Camry being operated by a 27-year-old female, causing the Toyota Camry to be struck in the rear by a 2021 Subaru, operated by a 51-year-old female."

Six people were hurt, with injuries including an ankle injury, a possible fracture, chest pains, and head and neck pain, Plainview Fire Department Chief Andrew Cohen told Newsday later Thursday.

Four people, drivers and passengers, were brought to the hospital for what the police department said were minor injuries; two others declined to be treated by medics.

When Cohen arrived on the scene on Thursday, "It looked like there were two cars that had a head-on collision," he said, speaking around 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the firehouse down the road from the crash site. "There were two cars that had passed it that were involved in an accident, and there were another couple of cars that were involved in an accident. I think people just rear-ended each other at that point."

The event was treated as a mass casualty incident, the fire chief noted, during which ambulances from multiple agencies transported victims to different hospitals. Plainview, Northwell Health and Nassau County ambulances were all on scene.

Details such as the driver's speed and who might be at fault were not disclosed. The investigation was ongoing.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.com,nicholas.grasso@newsday.comchayesmatthew,

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.