Cleanup, investigation continue after massive tanker truck fire in Rockville Centre

A tanker truck flipped and exploded in the midst of a Rockville Centre village intersection early Wednesday, igniting a massive fire and sending gasoline into the streets and a nearby river in an environmental calamity that prompted state authorities to start a rapid cleanup.

There were no deaths in the inferno, which destroyed a former furniture store and damaged another building. But after the tanker’s 9,200 gallons of gas emptied into storm drains, one witness and a fire official said an explosion sent manhole covers shooting skyward.

Some of the gas seeped into the Mill River, and officials from the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation scrambled a team of agency police officers and spill responders, who used vacuum trucks and absorbent booms to contain and soak up the mess. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter circled overhead, looking for fuel’s oily sheen.

Video of the crash taken from a nearby gas station and shared with Newsday showed that shortly before 1:10 a.m. the truck, which authorities said was operated by Bay Shore-based Rocket Express Corp., rolled down Sunrise Highway. As it passed two vehicles stopped at the North Centre Avenue traffic light it flipped, skidding through the intersection and igniting in a white flash. The fire burned through the vacant La-Z-Boy store on one side of the avenue and melted the "Fine Wines" sign of the liquor store on the other.

The truck driver escaped with only minor injuries, officials said.

DEC workers were still trying Wednesday night to "determine the full extent of gasoline impacts" and direct activities including pumping out, cleaning and flushing the area's storm drain system, an agency spokesman said.

Agency staffers "will continue to oversee the cleanup until it is complete and additional information will be provided as it becomes available," the DEC spokesman said. The area's public water supply was "not negatively impacted by this event," a Nassau County Department of Health spokeswoman said in a text message.

The building that once housed the La-Z-Boy store was demolished, firefighters using chain saws to cut steel beams that supported it. Sunrise Highway, which was due to reopen overnight, was plastered with the white foam used earlier to douse the fire and dotted by pools of gasoline. Heavy equipment lined the road.

The fire destroyed the back half of the furniture store, and heavy equipment removed the charred wreckage, along with the remains of the fuel tanker.

Wednesday evening, authorities had not released the name of the truck driver, whom Rockville Centre police interviewed Wednesday afternoon after he was released from an area hospital. A witness staying at the hotel across the street from the crash, Justin Easterbrook, 40, of Buffalo, said he watched two police officers pull the driver out of the street away from the fire.

A man who answered a phone number for Rocket Express declined to comment.

Power to the area — shut off for hours following the crash — was fully restored by Wednesday afternoon, said Julie Grilli-Scully, village spokeswoman.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday that state assets had been dispatched to help local and county personnel in dealing with the aftermath of the crash, which frightened nearby residents.

Billy Long, who lives about two blocks away near Mill River, said he heard the explosion that shook his house.

"It was like a mild earthquake. It shook the house and I heard everything, but I couldn't get near it," Long said. "It was hot and you could smell the gas inundating the neighborhood. I walked out and saw an orange glow."

Nassau County Chief Fire Marshal Michael F. Uttaro said the tanker driver got out of the truck cab on his own and had only minor injuries. Three firefighters also suffered minor injuries, he said.

The fire had cut power to about 500 homes and surrounding businesses. It also led to the closing of two elementary schools, St. Agnes Cathedral School and Riverside Elementary. They were expected to open Thursday.

The village has its own power grid, with power lines that run underground. Officials said they still have to assess and repair damaged lines once the manholes are deemed safe.

Uttaro said the situation could have been far worse if not for the heroic job done by firefighters and emergency personnel under the direction of Rockville Centre Fire Chief James Avondet. "There was huge potential for issues," he said.

The crash caused moments of early morning terror, witnesses said.

"It was like a loud sizzling noise and then an explosion," said Laura Lund, who watched from her apartment directly behind the La-Z-Boy store on North Centre Avenue. "I watched the bottom of the building catch on fire and manholes were blowing up," she said. "It was the scariest thing I’ve ever been through. I couldn’t sleep."

She lost power to her apartment and tried to calm her beagle, Harper, as she saw the building become engulfed in flames across the street from a Conoco station.

"I was afraid it was going to spread and was concerned about the gas station," Lund said. "Thank God nothing else happened."

About 60 people staying at the Best Western motel across the street lost power and heat. Before power was restored at about 1 p.m., hotel owner Kirit Panchanya said local officials were assisting residents. The hotel's electric key cards were still working but a fire alarm was wailing through the dark lobby.

"Last night we had no heat for a couple hours or hot water. I don’t know when it’s going to come back," he said. "I can’t even imagine. I hope everyone is fine. It was a disaster. I said thank God it didn’t hit the gas station. If it did, forget about it."

Marty Masarik, manager of the Bargain Liquors store across North Centre Avenue from the destroyed building, said when he got to work at around 8 a.m. Thursday the La-Z-Boy store was mostly wreckage and what remained of the tanker was outside on a flatbed trailer. "There’s nothing left of it," he said.

The fire was so intense it melted the sign and stucco on the wall of the building where he works, he said, and firefighters had taken down the front door.

Masarik said the La-Z-Boy store had been empty since around the first week of the year.

According to property records, the burned building was owned by Roma Furniture of Long Island. Thomas Luculano, the man identified in state records as that company's president, could not be reached for comment.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com,

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”